To Make You Stay
by missoyashirou
Summary: After a cascade of tragedies leading to an utter breakdown, Souji is given a chance to make right all of the wrongs. But even with his conviction about the 'true' murderer, he must reconnect with everyone and restart his life a second time. Will he just doom his family and friends, or will he be able to solve the mystery and prevent the tragedy of December?
1. A Barely Breathing Story

The first time he ever entered the Velvet Room, Souji Seta could remember sitting in the fine leather seats. It didn't occur to him at the time, as he believed it was nothing more than an incredibly vivid dream. The results of an exhausting month of preparing and packing, of sending whatever pieces of his life that could fit into cardboard boxes and two-day shipping to a far-off corner of the world. And while he could rarely remember his dreams in such detail, he could vividly recall the velvety blue interior of the limousine, the strange hook-nosed man and the beautiful blonde woman holding a thick tome.

_The coming year is a turning point in your destiny… If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost._

_My duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that does not happen. _

By the second time he entered, he was more accepting of the idea that this was not a dream or, at least, not entirely a dream. Between making a pact to solve a murder with a teddy bear-mascot... thing, and fighting a walking manifestation of his new friend's bitterness in a twisted version of a liquor store through the use of...

What was the term he called out again? In the midst of battle, as the intoning chant of _Thou art I, and I am thou_ rang through his head, while surrounded by the floating balls of teeth and tongue the bear called "Shadows"...

Persona.

With a force bubbling in the back of his mind that went by the name of Izanagi, and being forcefully shoved through a TV for the third time in less than a day, he was a lot more accepting of the idea of being in a dream-limousine alongside the most elegant woman he had set eyes on and contrasting, the most bizarre-looking man he had ever seen. He sat on the soft leather seat, this time palming the thin card in his hand and flipping it over and over, his own excitement over the day's events still gnawing away at his mind.

_Your destiny will require you to hone your power, and for that, you will inevitably require our help.  
There is but one price for this assistance…_

It certainly fit with the agreement he just made with Teddie and Yosuke just a few short hours ago. Between arguing about the possibility of being the true killer and that devastating moment in what remained of Saki's 'reality', for lack of better description. And, true to his word, Souji Seta abided by that agreement.

For every battle, he was the one who would maintain the group's funds and the gear. He would work four jobs and collect what scraps he could scavenge from the remains of the Shadows every battle. For every conversation, he'd try to find some lead to bring to the table or, in times where the case would stall, some new view point he could offer. He would study every night, to keep his mind sharp and his reasoning as high as possible. After all, he was the one who had made the contract and, more importantly, been deemed the leader by the group.

It was certainly an... Odd feeling, being selected as the leader. As far as Souji could say, he had never been responsible for other people.

Then December 3rd hit.

_You must abide by your contract and assume responsibility for all decisions you may make. _

For a moment, Souji was so still that even Igor wasn't sure he was still alive. He was slumped over in the back of the limousine, his face obscure by grey hair, his hand still tightly clinging to a cellular telephone. Even with his long bangs obscuring his eyes, he could see the thin stream of tears running down his cheeks, as suddenly his shoulders began to shudder, as Igor could hear the boy's quiet chant.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." His voice was cracked and hoarse, before it erupted into a near shriek of grief. At this point, the boy was deep in hysterics and barely at the edge of sanity. For a time, the three just sat in the limo, listening to the quiet drum of the motor and to the boy's frayed, cracked sobs.

* * *

_Out of all the things he was expecting his nephew to bring, gifts were not on the list. _

_Souji smiled sheepishly, handing the larger of the brown paper bags to Nanako first. "I'm sorry it's not wrapped. I didn't have time to wrap it properly, and it seemed really dumb to pay for another bag just because it looked nice. I hope you like it." _

_Nanako paused for a moment, looking up to Dojima in confusion first, as if to check first and make sure taking the bag was alright. It was... Odd, but not something he could regard as suspicious, at least not yet. After all, his sister Sumire had said before her boy was always a little strange, a reserved and quiet boy with the tendency to bring home strays and treat expiration dates as something that happened to other people. "Go ahead, it's alright." Dojima said gently, patting the back of Nanako's head as he spoke. She took the bag and glanced inside, before smiling brightly. _

"_A stuffed platypus?" She said, pulling the small doll out of the bag. It was a little doll, roughly the size of a man's fist, and filled with something more like sand or beans than fluff. Still, she clung onto the doll swiftly, looking intently at it's plush face, "I've never found one of these before! Not even Junes has them!" _

"_It's a little last minute. I would've gotten a better one, but I was already was at Okucho, and if I left the station to find a toy store then I would've had to take a much later train than I would've liked." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. _

_Nanako looked up at him shyly, still petting the platypus. "It's fine..." She said, quietly, "I like this one. Thank you." _

_Souji turned to Dojima, before handing him the second brown paper bag. "I got you something as well. It didn't seem polite to get something for Nanako and not bring you anything as well." Dojima took the bag, blinking in surprise for a moment before pulling out a metal cigarette case. _

_The older man smiled wryly. "I'm pretty sure when your mom complained about my smoking habit, she didn't mean you should encourage it." _

"_I didn't think you'd like e-cigs, and you ha-" The boy stopped himself for a moment, noted Dojima. Souji bit his lip lightly, before he finished, "You probably have a tendency to crush them. I mean, cigarette boxes are so thin, and with your job as a detective, I imagine you'd probably like something to keep them nice and fresh." _

_Dojima stared at him for a moment, not one of his on-call glares reserved for one of the delinquents that had been popping up around town with more frequency, but an extended glance. It was certainly a lot of assumptions that Souji was making right now. And, the actually unnerving point, he was making a lot of correct assumptions._

_Souji stared evenly back at Dojima, his face blank. Not with confusion, or even annoyance, but just blank. "Is something wrong?" He asked. _

_Dojima gave it another beat. "No, it's nothing." He said, pulling out a slightly crumpled pack of Marlboro's. "You just caught me off guard, is all." _

"_Please excuse me." Souji said. For a moment, his face flashed a surprisingly deep sorrow, not run of the mill sadness, but a stark gloom that didn't fit the moment at all, before shifting back to the prior neutral expression, the blank mask he had become accustomed to seeing in the yearly family holiday photos. "I'm just a little excited. After all, Nanako's never met me, and you haven't seen me since I was a baby, isn't that right?"_

* * *

After the sobbing subsided, the silence was pronounced. Igor's hands remained steepled below his nose, his eyes remained thin slits. He glanced over to Margaret, maintaining her ever-vigilant position by his side. Even now, he could see her knuckles whitened by the grip she kept on Le Grimoire, the tightness of her face, and the slight flush of anger under her skin. She did not approve of Souji's recent... reaction.

Meanwhile, the boy had finally calmed down. While he still leaned forward, almost curled into a fetal position, he was no longer shaking and mumbling incoherently. Of course, he was still distraught; Igor wasn't a fool, he was aware of the toll the events had taken on the boy's mind. But even distraught like this, they still needed to come to an answer. Everyone had gone for too long without an answer, and the cost of silence was too devastating to continue onwards.

"It seems," Igor said, as he readjusted his hands, "We have come to an impasse."

Souji looked up, choking back a second wave of sobs. "Y-yes?" He said, barely a whisper. Even now, the damage to his throat was done, after so many months of silence. His throat was raw from sobbing, from finally gaining use again, if only in savage, guttural cries.

"As of this time, the fog of deception has become beyond our scope." Igor said. Souji winced, specifically at the mention of the fog. "What had once been a possible path through the fog has been overridden, and to an an extent, even worsened as a result of indecision."

The Velvet Room fell back into a tense silence. Souji bent down, his arms curling over his head, as he clasped his eyes tightly shut.

"Do you have anything to say?" Igor said evenly.

"I'm a failure."

* * *

_It just figured that she'd end up with King Moron as her homeroom teacher, Chie thought somewhat darkly. Of course, the start of school was never something she looked forward to anyway. But between Yukiko being tied up with the inn for most of the vacation and Yosuke dodging her for days, only to collapse at his desk as soon as he arrived with no mention about how he enjoyed Trial of the Dragon... Ugh. Of course she, and the rest of the class, would be stuck with the biggest jerk teacher in this entire school. _

"_Now I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce this transfer student." Morooka stopped in the midst of his tirade about how the entire class was nothing but whores and assholes, and motioned to a grey-haired and kind of dazed-looking teen boy standing at the front of the class. For a moment, it seemed like he was staring straight at Chie, but she shook it off. "This sad sack's been thrown from the big city out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage. And he's just as much of a loser here as he was there, so you girls better not get any ideas about hitting on him! Tell 'em your name, kid, and make it quick."_

_The teen snapped out of his daze at that last comment, and glanced over to Morooka. "Wait a minute," he said, "You're calling me a loser? You, of all people?" _

_King Moron bristled, as the class chuckled or gasped in surprise. "That's it, you're on my shit list, effective immediately", he snapped, before kicking off into another rant, the second of what Chie was assuming was going to be a year full of rants. The grey-haired kid stared at Morooka in frustration and began rubbing his temples, "Now listen up! This town is miles away from your city of perverts and assholes, and maybe if you actually paid attention to this instead of rolling your eyes, you'd be learning something! And you better not think about getting involved with any of the girls around here, let alone abusing them..."  
_

_Chie looked at the empty desk beside her. She certainly felt bad for the new guy, already taking the brunt of King Moron's attention and being chewed out for something stupid, and he hadn't even had a chance to sit or say much of anything. And really, anything to cut this rant short would be a good idea. "Um, excuse me!" She said, raising her hand up. "Is it alright if the transfer student sits here?"_

"_Huh?" Morooka said, jarred out of his complaints about how terrible the new guy, and for that matter all of the students, were. He motioned dismissively at the seat, "Yeah, sure. Hear that? Your seat's over there, so hurry up and siddown already!"_

_The grey-haired guy walked over and took a seat. He glanced at Chie, a surprisingly tired and sad look in his eyes, but he still smiled gently. "Thank you," he said. _

"_Wow, he's got you that down already?" Chie said, "Hate to say it, but it's only gettin' worse from here. He's the worst." _

"_Oh no," the new guy said, "I've learned how to tune him out already. It's just... You remind me of someone I knew, is all." _

_Chie paused for a moment, thinking about how the new guy responded. It sounded weird but was probably nothing, after all this guy probably had hundreds of asshole teachers from the city, so he obviously learned how to tune out __**yer a bunch of losers and whores and yer gonna get teen pregnant or stds and die miserable bluh bluh bluh**__ from there. "So, you've got a lot of jerk teachers in the city?"_

"_I suppose you can say that."_

* * *

"I just... I stopped. And I stopped for a long time. You sent me to solve the mystery before the answer was lost in the fog, and I did nothing." Souji said, the last word dripping with disgust. It wouldn't have been as bad if he had taken an option, said something when he had the chance. But when Nanako... When she... Even thinking the phrase, even the idea, made his mind lock up and his throat burn. And how did he respond to it?

Freezing up entirely. Saying nothing, doing nothing. It wouldn't be as shameful if he had made any choice, even if it had the same result. But now, sitting in the back of the limousine, in the company of Igor and his obvious disappointment, Margaret and her seering anger... All he could think was how he did nothing.

Igor gave Souji a heavy stare, before shutting his eyes. For a moment, the limousine descended into silence again, before Igor spoke. "Well," He said, "Now we'll just have to make a decision at this point."

"I don't..." Souji said, before taking a moment to pause. It really didn't seem to matter anymore, at this point. Even if he solved it, Inaba was still dead. Everyone, everything... Still... "Understand." Souji completed, rather stiffly. "I don't understand what you mean."

Igor half-smiled, "Even now, we have certain options available to us for our journey. You might not believe everything is lost at this point, but I can do one of three last things, if only to resolve our current dilemma."

It was this that broke Margaret out of her muted anger. She looked at Igor, "Master?" She asked, one of the few times even she could remember as even questioning Igor's decisions. Of course, she knew the choice well, something Elizabeth had talked about with her before Elizabeth started her own journey, but to offer it to now? To this boy?

* * *

_At first, Yosuke found himself thrashing in the trash can in frustrated, pointless rage. Getting out? He wasn't getting out any time soon, he was stuck in the damn thing. He already knew he was stuck because he got stuck in the same trash can less than a week ago. And even when he did get out, he was going to be smelling like garbage for the rest of the day, which was bad enough but going to school smelling like garbage? _

_Damn garbage can for being just out on the street where anyone can crash into it. Damn shitty bike breaks, as well. In fact, damn Inaba too, with it's rocky streets that destroy bikes within six months, it's million housewives and bored students that didn't have anything to do but bitch about him, his family and Junes, and it's lack of anything at all to DO. _

_He flailed around, the first few kicks just because he was pissed and he wanted to just kick something, even if it was another trash can or the air. The last one was an actual attempt at kicking the can off though. It was getting hard to breath in the stupid thing, and it was rank as hell to boot. Stupid goddamn trash can. Stupid goddamn bike. Stupid goddamn Inaba. _

_The can came to a sudden and fixed stop. For a moment, he guessed he got himself wedged against a tree or a wall, but he heard a voice call out, "Hold on, is there any trash left in the can?"_

"_Nah," Yosuke replied, "I think I knocked it all out when I first hit." For a moment, he considered if it was meant as a stealth insult, but that particular thought went out the window when the can suddenly shifted straight up and knocked him on his ass. "Hey! Watch it!" _

"_Sorry." The voice said sheepishly, "But it's easier pulling the can off like this. Don't move, I've almost got it." _

_As the can was tugged straight off, the morning light was blinding. The fresh air was a relief at least, especially compared to the smell of the can. He looked up, catching the grey haired kid from his class placing the trash can back in place. The grey haired kid looked back at him and gave a gentle smile. "Are you alright?"_

"_Yeah, thanks to you. You're a real lifesaver, man!" Yosuke said, as he scrambled to his feet. _

_The grey hair boy rubbed his arm awkwardly at that, looking away. He looked... Oddly ashamed, almost. Or maybe self-conscious. Probably self-conscious, why would someone react with shame to being complimented? "I-It's no big deal. Really, you'd do the same for me."_

* * *

"Now, the first of the options" Igor said, steepling his hands below his nose once again, "is simply to surrender. We can accept this loss, and from this point, your story would be at an end.

"Your second option I can offer would be to go back in time a short distance, the span of a week." Igor said, "This would allow you to keep all of your current Personae available at your discretion, as well as keep you at the full level of strength you are at now."

Souji blinked wearily, his mind blearily processing the two options. Had he known… Had he known, he would've ran to the Velvet Room right away, instead of shutting down so thoroughly, to the point where he wouldn't even leave the house, where he wouldn't even consider approaching the glowing blue door beside Daidara's. "W-Why didn't you say anything b-before?" He asked, his voice slightly louder, but still cracked and damaged from lack of use.

Igor closed his eyes and said, "It's always been a failsafe in case the fog was to encroach, such as in this unfortunate time. While the events that have beseech you have been tragic, there would have been nothing we could've offered, at least until this point" The long-nosed man frowned deeply, as he continued. "However, it's an option that I find you'll be less willing to take. Tell me, my guest, do you think a single week will be enough for what you seek?"

Souji's mouth pressed into a thin line. He was right… A week? Jumping back a week wouldn't even bring him back to Inaba. A week ago, he was just arriving in Hokkaido, just in time to receive the text about Dojima, the simple _call me right now_… It would be too late for anything, even if he did have his Personae at his disposal. What purpose would that serve? Igor was completely correct.

"Of course," Igor's face hardened as he spoke, "The third option I can offer is an extension of the prior offer. I can push back further, going back as far as the first time we met. Of course, there's a hefty penalty with this option."

Back to when they first met... April, 2011. Long before the TV, long before the fog, December, and everything else that had gone so drastically wrong. A step back entirely, although one with a catch. He held his tongue, to let Igor explain.

"You will lose all of your boons you have earned through your time in Inaba. Your Personae, your strength, whatever progress you made with your social links, it will all be reset. Whatever progress you have made towards breaking through the fog of deception will have to be retread, for you will only start with your memories of this time and nothing else."

Souji waited. It was less considering his options, and more allowing Igor to explain the negative effects of the last option. The loss of the Personae... "This... This includes Izanagi too?"

Igor nodded, "As further warning, I cannot guarantee when you will be able to use him again, or even if you will use him again. While your abilities with the Wild Card will always be with you, you have changed, and changed drastically at that."

Souji felt the pit of his stomach drop.

* * *

_At 2:48 PM, the Inaba Police Department received the call regarding the discovery of the remains of Miss Mayumi Yamano. _

_A 3__rd__ year student, Miss Saki Konishi, was the initial witness in the investigation, having discovered the body dangling from a telephone poll down by the intersection between the suburbs and the old Inazaki farm stead. Later in the day, the coroner's reports would list the cause of death as unknown, with no signs of physical trauma on the remains._

_No DNA evidence would be found, thanks to what the coroners and investigators would attribute to the scattered showers throughout the day prior to the discovery. Any useful evidence, including finger prints or epithelials, was effectively washed away before the investigation could take place. Not that it mattered in this podunk backwater; quite frankly, the fact this department even had the means to even process DNA evidence sometime within the decade was a shock to Tohru Adachi._

_The rookie detective stared at the corpse, bleary-eyed, confused and frustrated. Quite frankly, the case of Mayumi Yamano always was the most disappointing portion of the game. He couldn't even enjoy the first act, until the confirmation about the lack of DNA evidence left him in the clear. Initially, he couldn't think of anything but the cuffs and the cell. Especially as a cop, he knew what prison held for him. Convicts were rather... unkind to former cops. _

_He took a swig of his scalding hot coffee._

_Adachi started to walk back to his partner, holding the two coffees he had initially been sent to retrieve. Already, he was finding himself in the role of Tohru Adachi, Rookie Detective and Dojima-san's Personal Bitch, much to his chagrin. Perhaps, as soon as he got a chance, he'd be adding a personal 'seasoning' to Dojima-san's strong, black coffee. Probably. Later on. For now, the worst he would get is cold coffee. _

_As he walked back to his 'superiors', Adachi stopped in mid-step. Dojima's nephew was here, him and two of his little flunkies, the angry little lesbian and little miss Princess Amagi. Well, seems the boy makes friends quick, doesn't he? Of course they were here, gawping like the slack-jawed yokels they were. Dojima's nephew though... He looked tense, standing in front of both girls. Oh. Oh, the boy was looking back and forth expectantly, perhaps trying to scope out his uncle. _

_Adachi waved over to the boy, " Hey!" he shouted in an annoyed voice, "What are you doing milling around for? Can't you see this is a crime scene?" _

_The girls definitely looked unnerved, at least. He couldn't make out what they were whispering to each other and to Dojima's nephew from this distance, but there was no doubt that it was definitely panic and worry. He walked up to the group, "Look, a bunch of school kids like you should be heading home at this point, so run off. I'm sure you've all got homework you need to do or something better than hanging around at a crime scene."_

The loss of any other Persona was already terrible, losing that representation of himself. It wasn't a simple matter of losing his favorite Persona, as if it was something as trite a preferred candy bar or a pair of socks. Izanagi was him, or at least a part of him, no less real than his arm or his voice.

There was still no doubt in his mind of his choice though. Had Igor requested his arm in return, he would've held it out and waited for the ax. Had he requested his voice, Souji would've torn his vocal cords out himself. It was a price, one that made the tightness in his chest and abdomen twitch harsher, but wasn't it a worthwhile price?

Didn't he want to save everyone?

Didn't he want Nanako to live?

Igor smiled enigmatically. Even without saying, Souji was sure the man already knew what he was going to say.

* * *

As the Bisai Line Express roared out of the tunnel, Souji was blinded by the bright, dazzling sunlight. He winced his eyes sharply, taking in a choked gasp of air at the brightness. The scenery they were passing was vivid, sharp greens and richly hued reds and pinks popping through the fields and on the cherry blossom trees as the train careened past. The interior of the train itself was as sharp, as bright as the outdoor fields with the worn blue padding on the seats a blazing cerulean, the sounds of gossiping travelers a raucous din, and even the smells of a food cart pushing past with re-warmed snacks for sale intense and highly perfumed. For a second, for a minute, for a long time, Souji was stunned by just how ALIVE everything was.

It was April 11h. Even without needing to check his phone, he knew it was April 11th. His mind felt... Empty, the weight of his Personae missing. Even the familiar anchor of Izanagi, the 'man-who-invites', was missing.

For a moment, his shoulders began to shudder, but Souji bit his tongue. No, even with all of the sensations coming back so strong and bright and almost maddening, even with his Persona gone and his sense of self shaken, he was fine. He was going to be fine. Wipe away those tears, still that breathing. There wasn't time left to cry and panic any more. In three stations, he would be in Inaba again, and he would get a second chance. One more chance to save everyone, all of his friends, his uncle, and his little cousin, and everything was going to be okay as soon as he could calm down and start breathing normally again.

Okucho station was coming up. He dimly remembered they had a gift shop available, and he had a few minutes before the Himawari-Sen train would to take him to Inaba. It seemed like the perfect time to get Nanako a gift.


	2. Conturbatio

The flickering screen was much clearer than he remembered from last time.

He was sure there was no way the image could've been so clear, so vivid and free of static last time. How could he mistaken the image on the TV as anyone but Saki Konishi on the screen, curled up into a pained ball, her light brown hair dirty and slick from... Blood? A head injury? He felt the pit of his stomach sink at the thought, and tried to ignore the thought of her having a bleeding head wound or worse.

Souji tapped the screen carefully, aware of what happened when he first touched the TV screen after seeing the Midnight Channel. The TV in his room was small, too small for him to slip and fall in without actually attempting to shimmy in, but the idea of having to pull his head and shoulders out of the TV forcefully and smashing the back of his head on the coffee table upon ejection left him with a bad taste with his mouth, even if he didn't wake Nanako up with all of the noise from that. The screen rippled under his hand, small waves pouring over his hand like thin syrup, yet the space beneath felt dry.

He waved his hand before pulling it back out, testing a wild guess. It might not have worked in the last timeline, but if he could get Saki to notice... He could shimmy in now, pulling Saki away from whatever danger would be lurking at the corrupted version of the liquor store and face down her Shadow well before the fog hit. Then, all they'd have to do is head back to the TV studio-esque landing that connected to the Junes electronics department, chase down Teddie, and explain what would happen so they could hop back out and be safe and sound, even if he didn't know Teddie yet, or remember how to get from the liquor store to the backlot off the top of his head with no guide, or even really know if he could just shimmy into the right place or end up careening off to some other place inside the TV world, far away from Saki or from anyplace familiar for that matter.

Souji pulled his hand out of the TV, if only just to facepalm at himself. Was he really that desperate? There was no doubt in his mind, as she writhed on the screen, that she must have been in pain. But jumping into the TV wildly like that would be the worst possible idea, especially alone and with no weapons or a medical kit or anything but a gnawing sense of guilt. The fog wasn't due until the 15th. He knew, at least intellectually, that he should had one more day.

He'd have to remember a spare medical kit when he went in. If he had enough time, he could stop by Shiroku before school, take advantage of the rainy day and get at least two and maybe a vial of painkillers. If he went that way, he'd be able to hit up Daidara's as well so he could go in with a proper sword and chain mail instead of a golf club and hope. Unfortunately, there would be no way he could skip school, even with Saki's life on the line; Junes was lousy with cops on weekday mornings, especially now with one murder hanging over Inaba. And the thought of trying to explain to Uncle Dojima... Souji could hear "_So you're not going to be honest with me_" echo in his mind, his jaw stiffening.

Uncle Dojima would never believe him. He didn't believe him back then, nearly in tears and begging the man back in that November to believe him, to turn back right away and to protect Nanako instead of waiting for an explanation that could never come. If he couldn't believe him then, when they were family... What chance would he believe him now that Souji was practically a stranger, a punk kid who decided to skip school to go to the local department store's electronics section and blathering about how a missing girl was going to die if he didn't jump into a specific TV right away?

The image on the screen began to fade away. At first, Souji felt his stomach wrench sickly- by god, he was too late, wasn't he? Did Saki even have a chance at all?- before he checked the time and calmed down. It was half-past midnight. Of course. The Midnight Channel always began to fade out at that point, that was the point the connection would weaken and eventually sever until the next rainy night. He still had time, even if it was only an afternoon.

He pushed his coffee table to the corner and pulled out the futon. It'd be good to get rest, even if his stomach kept twisting and his mind was on fire from ideas, both good and bad.

Chie might still be up at this point, she was the one who knew about the rumor and was most eager to check it out. If he showed her the TV world and explain what was happening, she'd be sure to join in on the rescue...

"_I can't find her! The fog's just too thick and I can't find her Yukiko or my family and I just can't find anyone..." She was just hysterical at this point, almost sobbing as he could hear the loud clack of her greaves on the pavement. "I-I can't even summon Tomoe. God. I can't even summon Tomoe. I'm so useless. Please, Souji-kun, just... Please, say something, anything-"_

Yosuke was definitely still up, there would be no way he'd be able to sleep at all after seeing the bloody, writhing Saki splayed on the screen. Even without having to ask, Souji knew Yosuke would be willing to walk through the flames of hell itself if he had the slightest chance to save Saki...

"_... H-Hey Partner... It t'k some time, but y' lucked out finally... You g-got out of town just in time."A wet, gagging cough overtook the speaker, "It's... It's really hell out here." _

Souji could feel his stomach clenching hard and his throat going dry, as he curled up into a ball in his futon. No. Not again. This time, he'd do it by himself. He'd go in after school and save Saki. And in three days, he'd stake out the Amagi inn and catch Namatame in act. No one else would be thrown in a TV, no one else would be murdered, and all of his friends would never face themselves. But they would be alive, and alive was better.

The miniscule amount of sleep he was able to get that night was ridden with the sound of thick, bloody coughs, teary sobs, and December.

* * *

"I think I saw someone." Souji said, biting his lip thoughtfully. His mouth felt like cotton, since he didn't drink much of anything, or even eat much of anything that morning after waking up so late. Damn. He'd be sure to cook and eat a big dinner with Nanako tonight to make up for it. "Looked like a girl with long hair. Couldn't tell the color though, it was too fuzzy."

"Really? That bad on your end?" Chie frowned, "I think her hair was brown-ish. It looked kind of light brown to me, at least. Maybe you saw a different girl?"

Souji shrugged. "It's hard to tell, my connection was so shoddy. She looked like she was wearing a school uniform, at least from what I could see."

Yosuke sat quietly, his brow furrowed as he stared at his phone. Of course he would be quiet now, Souji thought as he glanced at the boy. Last time he saw her clearest out of any of the group, and even without knowing the truth, the idea of seeing your 'soulmate' bloody and writhing in pain would leave most people shaken. Even without having a massive crush on said soulmate already.

"Hey," Chie nudged Yosuke's shoulder, hard enough to push him slightly and knock him out of his mind, "Heeey. Earth to Yosuke, you there?"

He jumped slightly, clasping the phone closed quickly, "Geez, Chie, I'm awake." Yosuke said, as he put the phone away. "Right, so Midnight Channel, that's actually a thing and it works. How the hell did you even hear about it anyway?"

"Like I told you, I heard about it from Sanada in class 2-3." She rolled her eyes, "What's with you today? You've been grouchy all morning and you've just been checking your phone all day. You're lucky King Moron didn't grab it from you and toss it out the window yet."

"It's... It's stupid. It's stupid and nothing." Yosuke said, before grinning impishly at Chie, "So, tell me about your girl soulmate. Never figured you were like that, Chie..."

She blushed deeply, "I-It doesn't mean anything, alright? I'm sure you can have not-romantic soulmates, okay? You better not be thinking anything dumb, alright?!" Yosuke's chosen response of snickering only achieved in her giving him a sharp punch to to the shoulder. "Ugh! See if I ask how you're feeling ever again." She glared at Souji suddenly, "And stop smiling, you're just encouraging him!"

He blinked for a moment, before realizing he really had been smiling, partly due to the exchange and partly because of how normal it had felt. For now, it felt okay. "O-Oh, sorry," Souji said, as he glanced away and mostly returned to his solemn expression. "So… Anyway, I'll try it again in the downstairs TV, but the bedroom TV is probably just too small and old."

"You'd expect an old TV to work better for this sort of thing though," Chie said, absentmindedly. When both boys glanced over to her, she continued, "Well, it's always what happens in these sort of urban mysteries, you know? You end up picking up an old Gameboy or go on an old website and get some sort of freaky death curse."

"Man, I hope you didn't think this would've been a 'freaky death curse' before you had me and Souji try it," Yosuke said. "Although, maybe being killed by a TV would've gotten me out of having to help out with setting up for the electronics sale tomorrow instead. I can't believe Kyouko and Mayu already called out."

"An electronics sale?" Chie perked up a bit at that, "I know my folks have been talking about getting a new TV for a while, and I've been dying to see my kung-fu films in hi-def. Think I can tag along to check out the new stuff? And hey, Souji, you can come too and replace that little TV."

"Sorry." Souji said, his mouth drying up again. He did have to go to Junes, but by himself. No one else needed to be there, not for the rescue attempt. He wasn't going to force his friends through all that stress again. "I need to head home as soon as I can. I'm making a stew, and if I want to serve it in time for my cousin to eat before bed, I've got to start it early."

"Hey man, no prob." Yosuke shrugged, "And honestly, it's going to be going on for a few days, so we can check it out on a better day."

"Playing the part of 'big bro' already" Chie teased, giving him a slight smile at that. "Well, you better make sure your little cousin gets dinner instead of messing around at Junes, or I'll punish you like I do Yosuke."

* * *

When it came down to it, Souji was surprised how well he reacted to the idea of handling a sword again. Ringing cell phones made his stomach clench. The sound of static on the TV was unbearably shrill and antagonizing. Snow made him tear up without realizing. But having a weapon again... Holding a sword again, to have the familiar weight of the steel and shagreen resting in his hands or hanging off his back while at standby... It felt comforting. Not as comforting as just being at home, helping Nanako set the table for dinner, or even as comforting as being in class and slipping answers about indefinite particles and perfect numbers to his friends, but it was a sense of comfort nevertheless, and one he eagerly held onto.

He eyed the small selection of blades in the glass display. Even after getting a few thousand extra yen before he arrived, he still only had the money for the charmingly crude imitation katana and a set of chainmail. Well no, he corrected himself mentally, as he looked towards the case beside the sword collection.

A pair of light, hand-sized nata sat under a display light. Beside it, two sparkling white platform sneakers, the soles of one pulled back to reveal a thick-looking plate built into the rubber platform. He looked at Old Man Daidara. "Metal?" he asked, pointing to the shoes under the glass.

Daidara nodded, "A custom order, actually. A girl asked for an extra boost to her sneakers, with something extra in case of trouble in the city. I practically ended up remaking the entire pair, since the original canvas would've torn to shreds under the strain of the plates and walking."

Souji looked them over through the case. He already remembered they were size seven and a half, Chie's size. The idea of forcing Chie and Yosuke along with him on this... He didn't have enough money, at least not for both weapons and two more sets of armor. At least one person would have to go without any armor at all, which would be bad enough.

"I know I want the imitation katana and one set of the chainmail." It would be easier and less dangerous with more people, but it was still dangerous. Way too dangerous with other people. It'd be fine with just him, even if it was more dangerous just by himself, alone.

"... A-Actually," Souji felt himself say, his mouth going dry as the words formed in his mouth. No, don't get them involved. They'll be safe if they stay out of it. It'll be better this way, with Saki alive and Yukiko never in danger, or Kanji, Rise, or Naoto for that matter. He knew that they'd be better off staying the hell away from this, the grimmest thoughts popped into his head of if they didn't, yet he knew... "Can you make that two sets of chainmail? And toss in the nata and the platform shoes as well."

* * *

The three bags of ice were easy enough to explain to the clerks, or at least lie about. Who didn't need ice on occasion, certainly not when you're preparing for a coming home party, and want to make sure the drinks stay cold. The ten pinwheels were a little odder, but who didn't like pinwheels, bright, colorful, and certainly good at catching wind. And the backpack? Well, he needed some way to carry around all of this junk on his person. His arms were getting tired.

There was no telling what element Saki's shadow would be, and even with coming in with Izanagi's lightning, it wouldn't mean anything if she had a resistance to that.

Souji looked up at the clock display over Junes' electronics department. It was getting to be pretty late in the afternoon already, fifteen minutes to five. He frowned, adjusting the backpack he just purchased. At least the cops had thinned out severely at this point; he hadn't even seen Adachi milling around in the entrance, a thought that worried him less on what Adachi would do and more about what Adachi would say to his uncle.

It was already awkward enough, bringing in two shopping bags filled with incredibly suspicious items and very obviously carrying a sword strapped to his back.

Comparatively, it wasn't as bad as it could be. With the wrapping and the hilt in place, he could make the argument that it was a training shinai, that he had been practicing kendo and had come in for a break before heading back home. As long as he didn't have to unwrap the sword or remove it from it's hilt, no one would know it was an actual steel blade, and one honed to be very sharp at that.

Still, that would make no argument for the two hunting nata that he had tucked into his jacket, nor did that explain why he was toting around multiple sets of chainmail, three medical kits, three bags of ice, ten pinwheels, enough firecrackers to destroy a moped and a pair of women's sneakers, size seven and a half.

God, he was so glad he missed Adachi. There was nothing on his person that wouldn't make Dojima think he wasn't completely out of his mind.

He looked around the corner in the Electronics department. Everything was incredibly expensive, much more so than anyone around Inaba was typically willing to spend, even with the sale. Not even clerks were milling around, most too busy in the much busier grocery or clothing departments instead of the most desolate and quiet section of the store. Souji caught himself smiling on the reflection of the TV as he approached.

He slipped his left leg and arm in, taking one last moment to glance around and double check for... It wasn't the best idea, was it? Looking for passerby now, trying to catch anyone who might be stumbling upon him in medias res, in the media. For a moment, he felt like he was waiting for someone, but he knew his stance on it. No. He was not going to ask them. Living, even living in ignorance was better. It had to be better. He was not going to let his friends get themselves killed agai-

"Oh. My. God."

Oh. Oh crap. That's Chie's voice. As well as, seconds after, the sound of a heavy box of something hard and plastic clattering all over the floor.

Souji turned his head slowly, his face going stark white. He looked dead on at Chie and Yosuke, the former covering her mouth with her hands to surpress any follow up screams she might make, while the latter just stood in stunned silence, his hands still open despite dropping the box of budget DVDs all over the floor.

**Author's Notes: **

I've been posting this on Archie of Our Own since the beginning of last month, however my fiancé has been encouraging to spread it to as well. Chapter titles can also double as a minor bonus soundtrack (either by being a lyric from a suitable song or the name of a song entirely), if you feel inclined to looking it up on Youtube or Spotify. Thank you very much for reading this.


	3. Decretum

"You're in the- How is this- Did you-" For the period of half a minute, Yosuke lost his entire ability to make a complete sentence. Instead, he found himself in a period of thirty different thoughts vying for a chance to be spoken, from 'how did you get into our TV' to 'why are you in the TV' and followed by 'this is probably voiding the warranty, so I would really appreciate it if you used your own TVs at home for your weird tricks instead of using the display models'.

Chie, meanwhile, had elected to just cover her mouth with both of her hands in an attempt to cover up the horrified squeal escaping from her mouth.

"Don't scream." Souji blurted out, holding up his free hand in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture. Immediately, he winced at how badly the situation was already developing, his mind toying around with the idea of just jumping into the TV entirely and dealing with the fallout of the situation when he got back. Perhaps they would both be convinced it was some form of collective hysteria. How often do you ever see a guy with his left arm and left leg sticking into a TV? Still, the idea of horrifying his friends, even in an attempt to keep the peace, left a sour taste in his mouth. "I have a good reason for this. Really, I just need a moment to explain-"

"Explain?" Yosuke interrupted, snapping back less out of anger than confused panic, "Explain? Yeah, sure, I'm sure there's a really good explanation for why you're in a GODDAMN TV."

"T-This has to be a prank, right?" Chie said, finally regaining the ability to use words instead of horrified squeally noises. She then proceeded to punch Yosuke in the arm for good measure, "You set this up, didn't you?! This is a prank to get back at me for kicking you a few days ago!"

"Ow!" Yosuke jerked back, before turning his attention to Chie, "Why the hell would I prank you by messing up the display TVs at Junes!?"

"Actually, the TV is completely fine." Yes, that was clearly what Yosuke and Chie needed to hear, Souji thought as he inwardly facepalmed. He looked back and forth around the aisles, from his position of mid-TV. All of the shouting the two of them were doing was surely going to get someone's attention, another store 'associate' or a confused and curious shopper. Another person snooping around this area and getting caught up with the TV world, especially a complete stranger, was just too much.

He really should just jump in now. But something was holding him back, something that he could feel weighing him down with the sneakers in his bag, poking him in the side with the nata in his jacket pocket. Even if he just jumped in without explaining, he was sure they'd follow. And possibly break the TV in the process, leaving him and Saki trapped. Or at least until the morning fog.

But he was not going to get them involved in this.

Not again.

"Look-" He said, sounding more frustrated than he would've liked, "Please calm down, both of you. I... I'll get out, and we'll take some time to calmly- CALMLY- talk about this and please stop looking at me like you're going to scream, it's fine." He pulled his arm back out of the TV, steadying himself on the frame. "I really have a good reason for this, I swear."

Both of the panicked teens calmed down, if slightly. Chie looked over at Souji, still half-submerged within a rippling TV screen, then looked back at Yosuke as if to say 'I'm leaving things up to you because, quite frankly, I don't have the means to deal with this'. The brunette boy sputtered a little, pressing his lips into a tight line, before he started talking again. "H-" He stopped himself, taking a moment to tone down his voice and to wince at how high pitch and goddamn squeaky he sounded, "How are you even doing that? Why are you in the TV? What the hell is going on?" He hissed.

"It's a long story, and I don't have a lot of time to explain it," Souji said, "I'll tell you as much as I can right now, but I need to get in there as soon as possible, Sa-"_ Don't say Saki. He'll get mad if you say Saki. He'll get mad and force you to explain what happened to Saki-senpai, and then he'll demand to go. You need to keep them safe and out of of the loop._ "-omeone's life could be in danger." He looked over at Chie, who's stance suddenly shifted. She went from a confused and nervous stand to standing taller, straighter, her fists clenched. _Now she'll want to go. She's a good person, a heroic person who gets into fights against hoodlums to save little kids and their lunch money. What did you just say about keeping them safe?_ "But it's nothing major. I can handle it myself. Really." Souji tugged his leg, attempting to pull himself out of the TV fully.

He gave it a second tug, trying to keep his face as blank as possible as his heart sank. This was probably the worst time for this. "Huh." He said passively, before grabbing the side of the TV for leverage and giving a third, firm pull, only for his left leg to stay fixed in the screen. "Huh. Um. I'm stuck."

"Please tell me you're joking." Yosuke said, darkly. As if the situation didn't have enough questions, now Yosuke found himself wondering if it would even be possible to just pull him out of the TV, or if that would lead to him ripping Souji's leg off from... TV pressure? Was that a thing? Apparently, being able to stick your legs was, as was getting them stuck in the TV.

Chie, meanwhile, decided to take her personal philosophy of 'Don't think. Feel' to heart and rushed over to pull Souji out. Nobody noticed the sound of crunching bargain DVDs under foot, or at least felt it was important in that moment. As she reached out, Souji jerked back his arm.

"It's fine, it's fine, really, please calm down." He said, as he attempted to keep his balance, still trying to keep his face mild and blank. He was sure he was failing at this regard, considering he could feel how tight his face was, and the slowly growing panic in his voice that he couldn't keep down no matter what he told himself. This never happened before, not being trapped in the TV world by a limb, and certainly not something trying to pull him in before, something he just noticed as he got a sharp tug on his leg. Souji yelped loudly as he was smashed into the edge of the screen harshly.

"Shit!" Yosuke shouted, as he grabbed tightly onto Souji's arm. When did he get so close? When did he let him get so close, and when did his grip get so strong? Even with trying to squirm out, to push him back, the brunette boy had a pretty good grip of his elbow. "Stop squirming, damnit, calm down!" He shouted, "We're just trying to help!"

_That's what I'm afraid of!_ Souji thought harshly, struggling hard against both Yosuke against his arm and the whatever-the-hell that was attached to his leg, and really trying to pull him in. Perhaps if it was just the one or the other he could have more success, but trying to pull away with his left leg and his right arm at the same time, with only the precarious ledge of a TV display table for footing, he just couldn't get the balance for either. There was an intense, downward yank of Souji's leg, throwing all of his weight down into the TV and pulling him in.

The situation had already become a disaster, but Yosuke still clung onto his arm, even with being pulled in. For a second, it seemed like he had a good grasp of Souji, pulling him a bit back into the 'real' world, as Chie also joined in and grabbed onto his waist. For a second, everything seemed salvageable, like they wouldn't be pulled in and they would just end up as a confused, panicked mess on the floor of Junes. Then Souji lost his balance entirely, slipping the entire group into the TV in a mess of limbs and screaming.

* * *

Souji just remained on the ground, motionless, eyes shut, still aware of his surroundings but wishing he wasn't. He could hear someone stirring beside him, moaning in pain from the landing. Probably Yosuke, he was more prone to bruising and sores especially compared to Chie.

He sat up, effectively also pulling up a relatively heavy weight wrapped around his waist. He looked down and saw Chie still clinging tightly to his side, although less of an attempt to save him and more because her arms had locked into a death-grip upon being tugged into another world. "Did... Did we just..." She mumbled, her eyes clenched closed as if to deny the reality of this bizarre situation.

"Yeah... We're inside the TV now." Souji said, grimmer than he intended. It really was a waste after all, wasn't it? He should've just cut class, even if it was the last class of the day and snuck into Junes or at least did his purchases earlier. Why didn't he plan better, why did he leave that window of chance open to them?

A twitching sensation kept repeating in the back of his mind, a realization that had come up back at Daidara's, one that he refused to acknowledge.

"We're in the TV." She said, taking a moment to fully absorb the statement. After a second, Chie repeated herself, as if to reinforce the reality of the situation. "We're **in** the **TV**..."

Yosuke sat up, rubbing his back roughly. As he looked around, the ever-present fog obscuring the area almost entirely, making it damned hard to see anything besides himself, Souji, Chie and the assorted amount of crap that Souji was carrying. He could barely make out the black paint outlines on the ground as well, kind of body-shaped? "Man... This place is freaky as hell. And what's up with your stuff, were you planning a party or something?"

"It makes a lot more sense in context." Souji said. He looked at his leg, still curious about the weight that had attached on. He was fairly sure who it could've been at least, or at least who he hoped it could've been. There were just two people he could think of that wouldn't have meant harm by grabbing onto his leg and tugging him into this place, and one was most likely still down with a concussion.

Hopefully Teddie would at least be amenable to hearing his side of the story before declaring him to be the killer. The last thing he needed right now was to spend time trying to defend himself against being accused of murder, especially considering how suspicious he must looked right now. He looked around, attempting to spot the familiar bulbous bear shape within the fog but came up short.

"You guys remember how we were talking about the Midnight Channel before, right?" Souji asked. "And how you're supposed to be able to see your 'soul mate'?"

Chie nodded in affirmation, as she pulled away from his chest. "Does that have something to do with this place?"

"Kind of. You can see people on the screen, but it's not a case of them being your soul mate or anything like that." Souji said. He started to get up, to start picking up his inventory of items at least. "It's because they were shoved into this place."

"So there's more people who can... Do... That thing that you were doing?" Yosuke asked, motioning to Souji's leg. Chie, meanwhile, took the time to start glancing around and getting up as well. "What, are they falling in? Hey, wait a minute, is there something wrong with that TV? I mean if it's sucking people into another dimension, we can't just leave it out there like that."

"It's not that TV. It's..." Quite frankly, he really wasn't sure what caused him to be able to do it in the first place. Latter trips were clear enough, Persona-users could just hop into the TV at their convenience, but they never did figure out how Namatame got the ability in the first place. "Well, really, I don't know how he does it. But I know there's a man who can shove people into TVs, and I can climb in too. Been able to since at least yesterday."

Yosuke stared at him, "And you decided to just hop in here? Are you nuts? Man, who knows what kind of things are in this place?"

"I don't have a choice in the matter." Souji said curtly, gritting his teeth a little. "Look..." He had to protect them, but what point was there now in lying about it? They were already here. It wasn't going to make the situation any more easy, and quite frankly, lying more about it would just be counter productive and would lead to more arguing. "I know you saw Konishi-senpai on the Midnight Channel last night too."

Yosuke silenced himself at that. His eyes twitched in shock, but he was still and quiet, a state that Souji was not familiar with. Even back in that December, even in those months after, he was still hyper, babbling Yosuke who's mouth ran like a bullet train and who's feet couldn't stop kicking the back of his seat in class. The brunette closed his eyes for a moment, before mumbling, "How did you..."

"Wait a minute," Chie piped in. "Didn't you say you couldn't see anything on the TV before, just a vague outline? Just how did you know it was Saki?"

He didn't want to dismiss their questions so bluntly, but the longer he let himself get derailed with banter, the less time they would have to find Saki and, more importantly, find Teddie. The last thing anyone needed was the news that four high school kids were found dead, hanging off antennas and balconies all over town. "She was thrown in by the same guy who threw in that announcer, Mayumi Yamano."

He took a moment to let it sink in. Chie and Yosuke might not have received the best grades- Yosuke's would be better if he actually just studied and Chie got high marks in History, PE and Literature to offset her poor Math and Science scores- but both were clever, and sharp as whips when it came to something like logical thinking. It didn't seem necessary to state the obvious, that Saki being in the TV wasn't an accident. And that she, and now they, were all in horrible danger.

"And you're here," Yosuke looked down at one of the medical kits that had gotten lose from the drop. His frown deepened, as his fists clenched, "To save her, is what I'm guessing."

"You're right." Souji said, still maintaining his even speaking tone even with the slight surprise at how calm Yosuke was acting, "You... You're not blaming me?"

"You're not the one who did it," Yosuke shook his head, "Otherwise why would you jump in yourself with first aid kits and armor." His voiced darkened at the end of that statement.

"I'm more mad that you're trying to run off on your own for this." Chie said, walking up to the two. "Why not call the cops? Or ask for help on this?"

"I can't turn to the police. They'd never believe me. I mean, how would you explain any of this, the world in the TV, the killer who can shove people in?" Souji said, _Believe me, I've tried. I don't want to be called a liar or insane again. _"And I just... I really don't want to get anyone else involved with this if I can help it. There are things in here, horrible things with sharp teeth and icy cold breath and... And some spit fire or poison, and things that grow from your anger and stress," Souji didn't even notice his rambling, let alone his fist clenching up tightly, his knuckles going stark white from the tension. "I don't want to get anyone else in danger than I had to."

"How the hell do you even know this?!" Yosuke asked sharply, "I mean, what the hell is happening wherever you're from, where you learn how to fight monsters and jump into different goddamn dimensions?"

"Idiot." Souji snapped his neck towards Chie, who snapped at him, "So you worried about monsters and things like that, but you still go alone? With bags of ice? What are you thinking, do you expect to scare them off or something?"

"Some of them are weak to that," He replied, picking up the backpack as he continued explaining. The ice had gotten loose in the commotion, as did many of the fireworks. Thankfully, while one of the bags was damaged from the fall, the spilled ice remained solid as he shoved it back into their torn bag. Of course it remained solid; ice didn't melt in this place, not unless it actually hit something. Physics in the TV world seemed to run on their own whims which, while it added to the confusion and frustration of trying to understand the Midnight Channel, did at least save him money when it came to purchasing supplies. "I've... It's really hard to explain, but I've fought these things before."

"That doesn't mean you should just run off on your own without telling anyone," Yosuke said, "You can't just go into a place like that by yourself. I mean, what if you got hurt or knocked out? You could be killed doing something like this!"

Of course he would bring that up. It was Yosuke who insisted on the rule of everyone always going together last time. Souji bit his tongue. Even if it was true, admitting 'well, that wouldn't be a big loss' would be a poor decision. And he couldn't die, not with the killer still out there, not with Nanako still in danger like that. The brunette boy had a point, a point that he kept thinking in the back of his mind.

He really couldn't do this alone, could he? He couldn't just hope that whatever he would face wouldn't have wind attacks or be shockingly powerful, or even that he just wouldn't get downed in a lucky hit and be left defenseless against a Hablerie. Especially a Hablerie. They attacked in groups, and were fond of rending.

"I'm sorry," Souji said, unsure if he meant it for trying to sneak in on his own or for what happened to Yosuke last time. He winced, "Look, it was stupid... I didn't know who to ask for something like this. I can't turn to the cops, I don't know many people in town yet, besides you guys, and... Well, there's a lot that I need to explain."

"Like the shoes?" Chie asked, holding up the pair of white sneakers.

"They're..." _Don't get them involved. Don't do it. Don't. No. _"They're..." He motioned over to her. "For you. They have metal plates, and they're heavy. They're weapons." Souji explained, wincing as he did so. "I also got hunting nata for you, Yosuke. You're spry and quick on your feet, and I... I kind of figured you'd prefer to try to use two weapons instead of swinging one weapon around like a sword or an ax. And I got you both chainmail."

"Wait, you're asking us!?" Chie snapped, almost dropping the shoes in shock. "What makes you think we can fight monsters?"

"I'll do it." Yosuke said.

"Are you insane?!" Chie shouted.

"Who else can?" He asked, as he started rooting around through the piles of things, "We're already here. We know senpai's in danger, and that this guy," he motioned to Souji, "Has at least an idea of what to expect. We have weapons. We can't just back out on this now, not with her in danger like this."

Chie watched Yosuke as he pulled out one of the pair of chainmail from a Daidara shopping bag and start unbuttoning his coat. She glanced over to Souji, who had already neatly organized the rest of his items, and was pulling the storage wrapping off his sword. For what felt like a very long time, she just stood. It was too late to back now. They were already in this place, this foggy place that smelt like burning oven cleaner or hot asphalt, and they knew that someone was in danger. Even if she said 'no' and insisted on going back home, what good would that do? For one thing, she didn't even know how to get home. And for another, well, even if she did... She couldn't leave them now. Not while there was still danger in the area.

She did always want to protect people.

Chie sighed, before starting to pull off her shoes. "So, any idea where we're going at least, Leader?" She said. It looked like she might as punched Souji in the gut for the severe twitch he gave out on that.

"Don't call me that." He said quickly. Leader? He was no Leader. He had no rights to being called that. A title like Leader was earned, and he lost that privilege. Still, he knew his reaction must have been off-putting, because Chie was staring at him now. Even Yosuke, who had finally finished buttoning his coat back up over the chain mail, was staring at him. He coughed, "A-Anyway," He started again, as he looked around in the fog-filled TV station, "We'll go as soon as we can, but we need to find someone else as well. I think he might be the person who pulled me in."

"You think he did the same to Senpai and the announcer?" Yosuke asked.

"No," Souji said, "He wouldn't do anything like that. He's... Well, he's kind of shy right now, but he is a good guy." A 'bear-y' good guy, as he'd probably say, Souji thought as he started to look through the fog. There was no way they could make their way to Saki in this, much less fight. Adding to this, Yosuke was here now too.

He already knew how he would respond to the liquor store.

Maybe it wouldn't be too late to shove them through the TV as soon as they found Teddie. All things considered, it would probably be harder to convince him not to create an exit and shove them through as soon as possible. He could certainly try to convince him to just let Chie and Yosuke through and take care of it himself...

But it was a little late for that sort of thinking. Chie already finished tightening the laces of the weaponized platform sneakers and was zipping her coat over the chainmail shirt, and Yosuke was waiting beside him, surely expecting the knives at any point now. It's not possible to tell people that you needed help, that there were monsters and an innocent girl was going to be killed, only to renege on it at the last minute.

Souji, hesitantly, pulled the nata out of his coat. Amazing, how light weight they felt back in Daidara's and hanging in his coat, yet how heavy they felt as they left his hand. It was almost shocking that Yosuke could hold them, let alone give a practice twirl of one of them without being weighed down.

"So, where are we going to find your friend?" Chie asked. It was as good of a time as any, at that point. All of the gear was gathered up, everyone had their equipment, and there was really no time to waste. It would be better once they actually started going too. His thoughts would stop eating away at him once they actually began properly to search.

"He's wandering around somewhere..." He said, looking around in the fog. It was damn near impossible to peer around in this, but with no Teddie for now, he'd have to try to guide the way by rote or at least aimlessly wander around where he somewhat remembered where the corrupted liquor store was supposed to be. "Be on the look out for a big round bear mascot, bright red and blue, answers to the name Teddie. That's the guy we're looking for."

"What." Yosuke... Didn't so much asked, as he stated incredulously. "Did he get tossed in too while at work or something?"

"No... Actually, he lives here." Souji said. He started climbing the random hanging ladder within the mists. He remembered it was oddly high up, a ladder that lead to an abandoned road that became the desiccated and dirty version of the Inaba Shopping District. And even if the idea of wandering aimlessly in the TV World was unnerving, he knew it was small and scarcely populated now. If there was a time where they could walk around without much worry, as long as they found Teddie, it would be now.

If nothing else, he remembered one of the walkways lead to the abandoned studio apartment with the shredded posters of Misuzu Hiiragi and the lone scarf noose, and he remembered that way was not even close to where the corrupted liquor store was. And to be quite honest, he didn't want to freak them out further. Hell, he didn't want to freak himself out.

He paused a moment as he was mid-ladder climb. "You know, if one of you don't want to come along on this, you can wait here. Nothing comes to this area, save for Teddie, so it's safe here, and Teddie can get you out of here. I can't..." Souji closed his eyes in frustration. He was already shuffling in haphazardly into a hornet's nest, an uncertain situation with nothing but plans and the hopes that he could remember how to navigate in this bizarre place practically blind.

"Stop being stupid," Yosuke admonished. "You can't just talk about how dangerous this is and expect either of us to just sit by idly and let you or Senpai get killed by monsters!"

"We're coming, okay?" Chie said, "If it's not safe for three people, what makes you think you'll be safe by yourself? At least, we'll be able to watch each others' backs and defend each other instead of one person being a sitting duck."

Souji started climbing again, taking a moment to think. "Fair enough." He said, trying to speak in as confident and commanding of a tone as he could muster. "If I don't find the right path up this way though within ten minutes, we're all turning around and taking some time to regroup."

Under his breathe, Souji added, "I knew you'd both want to stay."


	4. Un Wir Sind Die Jaegar

Chapter 3: Und Wir Sind Die Jaegar

The more he thought about it, the more Yosuke was pretty sure Souji was insane.

A guy would have to be insane to go on a rescue mission like this by himself, especially with carrying extra weapons and armor meant for other people that he clearly didn't want around. Hell, even without carrying the extra weapons and armor, he was running into another dimension. He guessed dimension? There wasn't anything like this in any of the Junes building blueprints that his folks showed him in the weeks of construction. Who would include a massive fog machine, a TV back lot with morbid body-shaped prints all over the floor or a full creepy-ass abandoned replica of the local shopping district in the plan anyway?

Calling it another dimension made a little more sense. What else could it be? The construction crew had gone crazier than his new friend and built a murder-city under the department store? At least he could consider Souji a friend. Maybe.

The more he thought about it, the more Yosuke was also pretty sure he was insane too.

Anyone sane would've turned tail, grabbed Chie and ran out of there or tried to make Souji bring out his weird pal who apparently lived in the TV. Not agreed to go along, forcing himself into the adventure and grabbing at knives and armor like he owned the damned things. He didn't really know what he was even going to do with the knives. Apparently, Souji was convinced he could use them at least. And maybe the guy was right, after all he seemed to know what he was doing when it came to weird alternate TV dimensions.

But if Souji was right, then he should go back after all. Just try to forget this bizarre world, this foggy and oddly yellow-washed land, leave rescuing the girl of his dreams to a crazy dude and try to accept stupid, boring Inaba instead of this... Well, this messed up and crazy and possibly dangerous place.

And he could also punch himself in the face, but that wasn't happening either.

It was fucked up to think, but... Well, Yosuke did have good intentions. Really good intentions. It wasn't for shits and giggles. If Souji was right, Saki-Senpai was in danger in this place, bleeding and in pain. He couldn't do this by himself, otherwise why would he be carrying around extra weapons and armor?

Yosuke was doing the right thing. This was nothing to feel guilty about. Of course there wasn't anything wrong with wanting to explore this place top to bottom, even beyond the crumbled and gross Shopping District. They had to find Saki-Senpai, and even when they found her, there could be more people in this place in the future, so the more they knew and saw of this place, the better off they'd be in the future.

The buildings, from what little could be seen, were completely deserted. The windows were boarded up from the inside, no light escaping from them that he could make out. Not that he was sure anyone would even want to be inside, some of the buildings looked close to falling apart. Then again, maybe anything would be better than this fog… God, Yosuke wasn't sure if it was possible to get a headache from fog of all things, but he felt one coming on.

He stopped for a moment, pressing one hand against one of the buildings. Even with howfoggy the city was, he could see a dingy, grey-blue banner hanging from the roof, advertising the Marukyu Tofu shop. Marukyu… He knew it was somewhere on the right street, at least. He didn't really know where the Marukyu shop itself was, to be honest. Even if he wanted to go and listen to people gossip about him literally behind his back, he just didn't like tofu. Just cold and bland, and squishy like a really bad lump of cheese… He really couldn't see any time he'd be even interested in checking out a tofu shop, even if Marukyu's front lot was a good place to stand a moment.

"You okay?" Souji said, turning to Yosuke. He and Chie stopped walking, none of the group wanting to break away from each other in the fog. Neither Chie nor Yosuke had any bearings in this place, even if it did have a striking resemblance to the Shopping District. All this fog was making it damn near impossible to tell. As for Souji, he was watching out for both like a hawk, keeping his sword drawn and in his hands as they walked.

He really wasn't kidding about the monsters, was he?

"Yeah…" Yosuke said, as he rubbed at his eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine. We really don't have time to wait, do we? Hold on, we can get going again right away, I just... I just need a moment."

"Don't push yourself." Souji said. He sat down on one of the steps. "It's the fog here, it makes people ill if they're in for too long."

"Heh. Figures that even the air makes you sick here." Yosuke muttered darkly. He looked down, guiltily. "We really should be going. I'm fine, I'll just suck it up."

"Look, it's important not to push yourself too hard here. If you just 'suck it up' now and push yourself too hard, you might end up too hurt to walk back to safety. We need to pace ourselves here, at least until we find where Saki is."

"Weren't you the one worried about the time before?" Chie asked, joining them for a seat as well. Even so, she was happy for the chance to sit for a moment. The back of her eyes felt like they were throbbing, as if she had been staring at a screen or sitting under a fluorescent light. Adding to it, something smelt... Off. It didn't really stink, not like garbage or anything. But it smelled lightly like burning, or sort of burning. She couldn't really think of a word for it, not with her head aching like this. She winced unintentionally, screwing her eyes shut. "I mean, we're on a really important mission, we shouldn't just be sitting around like this. What if we're too late?"

"She's right. We can't just jerk around and do nothing!" Yosuke said, gritting his teeth as he struggled to stand back up. Damn the headache, they had to go rescue Saki-Senpai. They didn't have time to wait until his stupid goddamn head cleared, she could be dead. As he got up, much to his frustration, a new wave of sharp pain in his eyes caused him to nearly faint. Yosuke fell back on his ass, the only thing stopping him from dashing his head on the pavement was Souji suddenly springing up and grabbing him from behind. "Wait, I'm fine-"

"Don't push yourself too hard." Souji scolded, "The fog makes people sick. I know you need to save her. Trust me, I can understand that. But it's not going to be any good if you push yourself too hard and you end up fainting when we finally find her." He tapped Yosuke's headphones, "Maybe you should put these on for a bit."

Yosuke looked up confusedly, "You serious? It's not the noise that's bugging me, it's trying to see through all of the damn fog."

"It... It might help. I knew someone who would have similar problems, and he swore his headphones would keep the migraines down, even without anything else to block away the fog." Souji said. He didn't include the part that it had been originally Yosuke who had said this. It was hard enough trying to explain the situation without dropping the 'I'm from a failed timeline and came here to keep the apocalypse from happening' bomb. Still, Yosuke seemed at least convinced enough to give it a shot, as he pulled up the headphones.

"Anyway," Souji added, with a frown, "We're actually not that far off from where she most likely is." As far as he could tell, they were a little more than a block away from the liquor store and they had only been in the TV world for a couple of hours, at most. While he knew he was going to be heading home late, at least they were not close to the morning, when the fog would hit. Really, it was more approaching the liquor store that was a bigger problem.

He glanced at Yosuke for a moment. The brunette boy seemed to be feeling better after placing on his Coby CV215, or at least he was no longer about to faint. How was he going to broach the subject of what Yosuke would hear and see in the corrupted liquor store? It might even be worse now, what if Saki's Shadow just started trashing him straight to his face, or even threatened him right out? It would be bad enough fighting one Shadow as is... He didn't think the group would be able to take two, not now.

Souji rubbed his head, as he leaned against one of the cracked walls of the desiccated and false Shopping District. If it wasn't for the lack of the glasses, the walk would go a lot easier. Perhaps they would have already reached the liquor store were it not for this damned fog that made traveling anywhere a feat of blind sense and carried the smell of ozone everywhere. At least, as a saving grace, they were on the right track, and fairly early on.

They shouldn't be having such an easy time with this. Souji turned to Chie and Yosuke, as he stood up. Chie was more focused on the windows at the fake-Daidara's, but at least both of them looked slightly less ill. "We're going again in five minutes. I… Think she might be down this way." Even with having them along, he didn't want to even attempt to explain how he knew where Saki was, let alone the past timeline. "Does anyone have any idea where the liquor store might be? You said that's where she'd most likely hide at in this place, right?"

"It's close to the main roadway, down at the end of this road." Yosuke said, as he pointed down the street, at least in the direction he assumed would lead to the main roadway. "Wait. I think that's the right way? Maybe?" Stupid goddamn fog. "Shit, we really need to see where we're going around here."

"Hey…" Chie said, as she started to get up in a proper stance, "This is a copy of the Shopping District, right?"

As much of a copy as Saki's mind would create, Souji thought. Still, he kept that part to himself, at least for now. "Yeah." He said.

"Do you think the weapon's shop would have weapons inside of it?"

"I... I don't really think so." They never checked for weapons the last time, did they? Maybe they should have, rummaged up a few free sets of armor or a medium-quality sword. "Why? Do you think we should go check."

"I think someone else beat us to the punch." She said, pointing at a shadowy figure as it darted downward below the window pane.

* * *

Thinking back on it, Teddie really didn't know what his plan was when he grabbed at that floating leg earlier.

After the second girl had been shoved in, he was just confused and upset. People shouldn't be coming to this place, especially not after the first lady had been killed and taken away by the fog. It was dangerous here, no good for people. But the first lady he had been too scared to talk to, and the second girl... Well, when she saw him, she screamed and ran away. How bear-y cruel! It was enough to give somebear a complex! Although, to be fair, Teddie screamed and ran away too, but that was different, this was his place. He was allowed to be scared of skinny teen girls in his place, it wasn't like he went to her house and did it.

Then that leg popped up. Seeing it and the arm dangling in the air, he panicked. The killer had come back and was tossing someone else in! He couldn't let that happen! He had to stop it, and he stopped it the only way he knew how!

So he grabbed the leg!

Yeah, thinking back, it was a really dumb idea. He panicked. He was just trying to save the guy, not bear-handle him and end up ripping him in himself. Or his two friends. Or all of their things. On the one paw, Teddie thought as he watched from his hiding place inside of the empty building, he really didn't want to get all of them killed by the shadows.

He had to admit though, he was oddly proud that he was able to pull three people and a bag full of stuff into this world.

The group was hanging around, outside of that place with the blue tattered banner that said something about Ma-Ru-Kyu-To-Fu. All three of them were beginning to look bad at this point, with the brunettes both rubbing their eyes in pain while the grey-haired guy just stood watch with his sword. Wait, he brought a sword here? Teddie scooted down under the window.

Maybe that grey-haired guy was just trying to play it smart. He looked pretty smart; Teddie was sure he must have known about the Shadows already, and he was just being prepared for them! Maybe the other two had swords too, or maybe knives or guns or other weapons. Still, even if they were prepared to fight, they should not have come to this place. He frowned to himself, thinking of how many shadows were super-strong or with rock-like skin. No sword would be enough to cut through something like that.

Unless they were looking at much softer, cuddlier prey to fight...

He heard a knock on the window. Teddie scooted down further, cowering in fear. Oh, it was bad enough when the shadows got wild when the fog faded, but he didn't really know what to expect from humans except for them being really loud and fast. And at least one of them was fond of shoving people into this place.

The knocking on the glass got louder. Teddie started to crawl away, to hide in one of the boxes littering the floor of the shop. As the little bear scooted away from the window in fear, unbeknownst to him, three mots of darkness began to dribble down from the wall. The motes slowly transformed, solidifying into slimy thin strands of malleable darkness, while blank red faces grew from within the malleable darkness. Had Teddie been focusing on the back wall instead of trying to find a place to hide, he would've noticed the motes, now that they were rapidly changing from masses of slime into the toothy and red-lipped terrors known as Hablerie.

Had he also turned around, he would've seen the grey-haired boy who had been knocking at the windows suddenly go deathly pale, going from punching at the glass to immediately running at the door, shouting for Teddie to turn around and to run.

"WE NEED TO GET IN, NOW!" Souji shouted, as he ran for the front door to the dilapidated weapon-smithy, attempting to pull the door open. The door didn't budge, locked from the inside or stuck or some other unfortunate event that held it shut. Even pulling as hard as he could, pressing a foot against the wall for leverage, the door barely shifted.

"Wait, what? What's happening?!" Yosuke asked, as he immediately ran over. "Did you find Saki, monsters?"

"It's Teddie," Souji said, still tugging uselessly at the door. It wasn't moving, and he could see the figures in the window shifting quickly to their normal forms. He wasn't sure if the group had been seen through the window, but he definitely knew they had caught sight of Teddie, as they all floated to his hiding place under an overturned crate. Souji's blood turned cold, as his body went limp against the door. "He can't fight on his own! He'll get mauled, or killed, or just... I need to get in there", he rambled. A sick feeling in his stomach grew, the thought of the sharp, glinting teeth of the Hablerie shredding the innocent bear playing in his mind.

"Move." He turned around, looking directly at Chie. The brunette girl shifted into a proper stance, as she sidled up less than a foot away from the door and

"It's stuck, I can't... I-I can't open it." Souji said. He was trying to still himself, keeping down any trembling in his arms or his voice.

"I know. I've got this, now MOVE." Chie said, as she shoved him out of the way. She leapt up and with a sharp kiai shout, kicked the door in one sharp movement, the wooden and glass frame shattering against the strength of her foot. Chie turned back to Souji. "See. This is why we're coming along. You need help."

"I-" _I'm sorry. I'm still scared. Everyone died last time, and there was nothing I could do. I just can't _see it again. It's too soon. I'm sorry. Souji attempted to start, but the words choked in his mouth. He felt Yosuke's hand rest on his shoulder.

"We'll talk about this after. Right now, we've got your friend to save." Yosuke said loudly. Already, he had the nata out, his signature headphones already against his ears with the tones of vivid and angry rock music blaring out at levels that Souji was still shocked he wasn't deafened by.

"... Right." Souji said back, his face going back to neutral stoniness. Even with how even and authoritative he tried to present himself, the thoughts were still blaring in his mind.

The group rushed in, the sound of broken wood and shattered glass further crackling under their feet. Both Teddie and the Hablerie turned, their attention cleanly grabbed by the sight and sound of Chie breaking down the door. Teddie almost got up and dashed right to the back of the room, but as soon as he turned, he caught the sight of the floating balls of shadow and teeth and promptly huddled against the wall.

"Did you guys just run in here with the shadows?! You're all un-bear-lievable!" Teddie shouted, as he attempted to cover his bulbous head with his hands. "What are you guys even doing here?!"

"Saving you." Souji responded automatically, as the group immediately went to a battle position. Chie and Souji both stood side-by-side, close to Teddie to guard against any possible further attacks, while Yosuke stood in front of the door to act as a blockade.

Chie and Yosuke both looked nervously at the floating balls. Both had been so occupied by Souji's sudden failed charge at the door that neither had looked into the window. Considering the massive red-lipped floating orbs with sharp teeth and long, dripping tongues, it wasn't a surprise he had panicked in an attempt to get into the building. He had warned there would be monsters here, it shouldn't be so surprising to literally see monsters.

As Chie and Yosuke were distracted, Souji raised his hand out. This was it. He would feel the rushing power of Izanagi coming back at any time now. It would be okay, he would get his Persona, and he'd be able to protect everyone again.

He still heard no intoning voice, commanding I art thou, and thou are I but he would surely see it any moment now.

It would happen at any point.

The Hablerie were growing antsy, and he was suddenly aware of the other two beginning to stare at him as he head his hand out. But his Persona was sure to come around, come around at any point now! It's how it happened before!

It wasn't happening. It wasn't happening. He needed Izanagi to show up, he needed to summon his Persona now, as the shadows were getting closer. In his mind, he thought of how he could do nothing, that the news all over town would be talking about how four kids were found all over town, three of them ripped to shreds and mauled, dangling off of telephone poles, and he would never be able to catch Namatame, or save Yukiko, or Kanji, or Naoto, or Nanako-

His sword clashed against the Hablerie's sharp teeth with a sharp clang. Souji didn't realize the shadow had come so close, but it was within inches of his face now, the dark slobber from its black tongue running down the blade and soaking his coat sleeves.

The panic of Izanagi's loss pushed aside, the shaking in his hands stilled, the repeated mental chant of it doesn't matter, you already failed, none of them have a chance silenced. Instead, he shoved the blade with enough force to send the toothy ball flying back. As the Hablerie faltered, he slashed the blade vertically, the fluid action slicing the shadow in half before bursting it into motes of fading darkness.

Then came the second Shadow, as the first faded into a cloud of fading purple smoke. It burst forth through the darkness, raring for a chance to score a hit on the distracted Souji, tongue exposed for a slamming attack, only for a sudden blur of tan and green to counter. Chie kicked the side of the Hablerie sharply, with a kiai shout and enough force to send the floating ball rebounding against the wall with enough force to crack it. She fell into a defensive crouch upon landing, in case of a counter attack, while the Shadow bounced against the floor and turned to Yosuke.

The brunette boy stared at the Shadow, nata clenched in his hands. It didn't seem real, no, it shouldn't be real, this thing. How the hell was something made out of darkness alive? How could it see to attack them with no eyes, hear them with no ears, how the hell did it have any means to sense them? Chie had her own philosophy to cling to, accepting the idea that thinking about this situation any further than necessary was not needed, but standing by the door, staring at an actual goddamn monster, Yosuke's mind was just screaming out how little sense the situation was making.

The Shadow began to recover and turned back at him, lolling out its massive blackened tongue with a sharp-pitched… Growl? He couldn't say, the sound of L'arc en Ciel drowning out whatever obviously terrible noise it made as it started to get up. He panicked.

Yosuke always figured if he was in a fight and panicked, he would have ran the hell away, damn whoever was trying to fight him. Or maybe he would huddle up in a ball and cover his head in some attempt to protect himself; certainly not leap into the fight, jumping on top his fallen enemy and shanking it wildly, harshly, repeatedly screaming despite not hearing himself over his headphones. He must have been screaming like a girl, or maybe screaming something ridiculous. He really didn't know. All he knew was this thing had to die and he didn't relent until the shadow burst into fading darkness as well.

He looked down at what had been the monster, falling on his hands and knees with the sudden loss of the Hablerie. For a moment, he felt relieved, the thought of _'Hey. I did it. I'm awesome.' _floating around in his mind. Then, Yosuke looked up, to see the third one rushing up to him.

Shit. Shit. He had forgotten about that one. Shit. He wasn't going to get away, not kneeling on the ground like this, his nata weren't even facing outwards. Yosuke winced, covering his head with his arms in an attempt to at least not be killed by the monsters. Souji had said they would maul people and that they had sharp teeth. And now, as Yosuke prepared to take the full brunt of the third Shadow's mauling, he was about to find out how sharp first-hand.

Instead, he felt a heavy weight against him, a second set of arms wrapped around his head and arms as something warm, thick and wet dripped into his hair. Oh fuck. Yosuke looked up. He didn't expect Souji to be so damn quick. He didn't expect Souji to take a sharp bite to the shoulder so calmly. And he really didn't expect Souji to be so willing to protect someone he practically just met.

"How's that, you bastard?" Souji snarled, guarding Yosuke as the Hablerie gnawed at his shoulder. It hurt badly, a sharp gnashing pain as it chewed deeply, but he could take it. He wasn't going to be downed by a single goddamn Hablerie, no matter how much it hurt to be bitten deeply. It wasn't going to get through to Yosuke. It wasn't going to maul Yosuke to death again. The biting hurt, but he could take, and he would take it with a grin. "Think I'm just going to let you get past me again? Not this time."

Souji couldn't do much in this position, but he knew he didn't need to. After all, while he couldn't see anything beyond the pink and black orb-like shadow attached to his shoulder nor could he hear anything besides chewing and Yosuke's growing panicked yelps, he knew Chie was there. Chie, dependable, strong Chie, even if she didn't realize how brave and reliable she was yet. Chie, who had a kick like a mule, as she demonstrated by smashing the back of the Hablerie with a kick, causing it to reflexively loosen it's grip on Souji's shoulder and the group of Souji, Yosuke and the Hablerie to fall over.

The Hablerie smashed into the window, fragmenting into motes of darkness as the glass shattered around it, spearing into the Shadow's body and spraying all over the floor. Even as the Hablerie died, she maintained her stance, still waiting for a possible counter-attack or maybe some form of revival, she really didn't know what to expect from these things, and with Souji and Yosuke downed and the weird costume-wearing guy huddled in a corner and shaking, she didn't want to be caught off-guard.

Meanwhile, Yosuke found he needed an adult, or at least a chance to get up and out from underneath Souji's legs and groin. It didn't help the grey-haired boy had groaned when he had collapsed, most likely due to the massive bleeding wound on his back but no more comforting than the alternative. Souji began to climb off of him slowly, his left arm shaking awkwardly as he moved away.

"S-Sorry." Souji said, as he sat up and lifted his arm, wincing a bit. He could still move, at least. His fighting might be hobbled, which was an option he didn't want to consider at this point, but he could still move his arm. "It's really not that bad, it's just really bloody at the moment. I'll be fine."

"Bullshit." Yosuke said, as he started rooting through Souji's backpack. Thankfully, he brought enough first-aid kits to spare before coming here, which was good because he was fairly sure he was going to need all of the bandages in at least one of them. And aspirin. Lots and lots of aspirin. The grey-haired boy may not be able to see how badly fucked up he was just now, but both Yosuke and Chie could see the damage. His school blazer and white button-down shirt were both torn, the latter clearly stained with blood. "You're going to need to take off your shirt. I'll bandage up your shoulder, alright?"

"But what if we need them for later?" Souji asked, as he started removing the jacket.

"For what," Yosuke asked incredulously, "An emergency? We've got three of them. Your back is ground hamburger. We can't just let you bleed to death because you were too manly for bandages, now stop complaining and take off your shirt."

"I'm checking the back room, alright?" Chie said, still maintaining her stance. "If any more of those... Those things," She motioned over to the shattered window with a wave, "come around through there, I can try to get the jump on them. And I want to try and look for something anyway, okay? The bear can come with me too."

"S-Sounds good." Yosuke said.

"R-Really?" Teddie asked the girl in the green jacket. The little bear in the corner looked up from his terrified huddle to the human group. The grey-haired guy was looking like a mess, torn up and soaked with... Soaked with red. He didn't really have a word for it, since Shadows didn't bleed, or do anything but puff into smoke when they died. In retrospect, wasn't the skinny girl from before also leaking red too? The skinny guy and the girl in the green jacket didn't look as mangled in comparison, but they looked tired and scared and sort of ill. Well of course, the fog was no good for people.

Chie was trying to keep her cool in the situation, trying very hard to not appear stand-offish, but like her normal cheery self. And if her smile was a bit forced at the moment, she doubted anyone could blame her for it. "Yeah. You seem like you know your way around this place. And this kind of looks like a shop I've been to before, so I want to see if I can find something for my friend before we get going. Hey, maybe we can find a weapon for you too." She teased, as she started walking to where the spare storage would be.

The bear followed along, "Uh-uh!" Teddie said, his feet squeaking with each footstep as they walked along, "I can't fight. I've got no muscles whatsoever!"

He couldn't see the girl in the green jacket's face, as she walked ahead into the back room, Teddie in tow. He bit his tongue, holding back his apology for the time being. How lame was he? She could fight those things, no problem. She practically trampled the one he attacked before, and the last one she just punted through a window like it was nothing. For that matter, so did the two guys that came in with her. The skinny guy, even as scared as he was, still jumped on top of one of the Hablerie and stabbed it. And the grey-haired guy? Heck, he sliced one in half like it was nothing, and got all bit up, and he was still cool as a cucumber!

They must have thought Teddie was a big old coward, and he couldn't really argue with that.

* * *

The massive bite-mark on his shoulder and back was clearly visible, as a surprisingly deep circular gouge.

God. Souji just took that for him. Not only that, but he was trying to act like nothing was wrong, just trying to macho his way out of it. In a sense, Yosuke felt... Almost kind of jealous. This guy was an action hero in the flesh, running in here to save Saki-Senpai and fight monsters, and all Yosuke could do was cower and panic. And now, Yosuke was covering Souji's shoulder with peroxide, bacitracin and gauze pads in some attempt to clean out his wounds because he was an idiot who panicked.

"I don't blame you." Souji said.

Yosuke frowned, "You just got mauled because of me." He said, as he finished bandaging the injury. "Hell, you're not even wearing armor. You should've just let me take the bite, instead of getting all chewed up yourself." He looked down at his hands, now streaked with Souji's blood and medical ointments. "Wait, why _aren't_ you wearing armor?"

"I couldn't afford it. Not with getting armor for you and Chie, and weapons for all of us, and all of the tools I needed." He lifted his arm again. The pain had mostly subsided, an effect of how quickly medicines and bandages seemed to work in this place. Perhaps whoever had designed the TV World in the first place decided to reward careful planning and intelligent thinking, hence things like how more dangerous Shadows would avoid the back-lot like the plague, or how someone could feel almost entirely normal after being nearly killed by slathering on some antibiotic gel. It made as much logic as anything else did here, at least. "And... I really just didn't want to see you get hurt. Not like that."

Not like that again. He could take the bite better than watching Yosuke take it. Not that he could explain. Even if he wanted to, the words would die on his lips before he could even say _you died once before, in a different timeline. There was nothing I could do then, and I just can't risk that happening to you or any of my friends again, so as long as I can stand and fight and take the hits for you and everyone, I will do it, because I deserve it._

Yosuke sat and watched him quietly for what felt like a long time. "Hey..." He asked, in an unsteady voice, "The way you fell in... Were you planning that? Like, was that some sort of crazy plot to get Chie and me in here?"

"What?" Souji asked. That was never his plan, he was not going to get them involved at all. Leave them home, leave them safe, that was the idea. He was almost offended that Yosuke would even think such a thing. "No. No, I wouldn't ask you to come in with me like that! I... I was planning to just go by myself. You both stumbling in just as I was going to leave, and I was worried you might break the TV trying to go in after me if I entered before explaining."

"Then why did you buy us armor?" Yosuke asked. "Hell, why us at all? I don't even know how to fight. Chie's been in a few scuffles, but nothing this serious, at least I don't think so... I know you said you couldn't turn to the cops, but isn't there anyone else in town you could've asked, I mean isn't there a badass who lives across the street from Senpai, I mean I'm sure he'd know her and the guy once took down an entire biker gang with a steel chair."

"Kanji?" Souji asked in a surprised tone.

"You're on first name basis with the guy?" Yosuke almost yelped in surprise. He didn't even know the names of half of his class. How the hell did Souji know Kanji Tatsumi? "What, is he an old family friend or something too? Is he also part of your 'let's go kill tv-monsters' club?"

"No, I don't know him. And even if I did, I can't just go up to Kan- Tatsumi-kun." Souji corrected himself. It didn't sound right to refer to Kanji so formally, but he really didn't know him yet. Kanji hadn't even been in school yet, much less stomping around the Junes food court or wandering around awkwardly in the Okina fabric shops, looking for knitting needles. "For one thing, I'm pretty sure he'd punch me in the face if I tried telling him to join my 'let's go kill tv-monsters' club, as you so aptly called it. For another thing... You and Chie really were the best choice."

"Chie maybe," Yosuke said. He wiped his hands on his pants. Funny how they still felt clammy, and it wasn't the blood or the medical goo that had him feeling grossed out, but just his own nervous sweating. "Why on earth would you ask me?"

Souji paused for a moment, playing around with the buttons on his shirt. "Because you love Senpai." He finally said, ignoring the strangled noise that just came out of Yosuke's mouth. "And I knew if you found out that if she was in danger, and I didn't run into hell itself to at least try to save her, with every resource I had in my disposal, you would never forgive me for it."

For the briefest of seconds, Yosuke felt a chill in his bones. Souji was right. And more importantly, Souji was right, yet he shouldn't even have the slightest clue what he was talking about. Was his crush on Saki-Senpai that obvious? Did Chie say something? Did he figure it out before, with how gung-ho and raring to go Yosuke was before, with the knives. He stared at Souji, as the grey-hair boy looked away, almost in shame.

What was up with this guy?

"P-Please don'-" Souji started, only to be cut off by a heavy ceramic-plated vest landing on his lap. He picked up the kevlar vest in surprise, before looking back up at a very pleased Chie, adorned with bright yellow glasses. "Where did you find this?"

"Told you I wanted to find something for you." Chie replied, "You can't just be wandering around this place without armor, that's stupid. And I figured since we were in the armory, maybe there would be some armor lying around."

He bashfully toyed around with the straps. "I'd say 'you didn't have to', but I'm fairly sure you'd kick me in the back if I did." Souji said.

"I'm not that mean." Chie said, with a mock gasp. "I'd just kick you in the butt. Nothing's bitten you there, so that's completely fair game. And check out these babies," she motioned to the glasses. "It's like you can't see the fog at all, and the headache's gone to boot. I feel like a brand new person wearing these."

"Fo sho'" Teddie added, as he walked up to the boys, an orange pair and a grey pair both in hand, "Like I said, I'm 100% support. And when Chie-chan was telling me how you guys have been bear-ing your problems with the fog so stoically, just to find little ol' me, I said to myself, 'Teddie, this is your time to shine and help your saviors!'"

"Really?" Yosuke asked, not really sure if he was more surprised Teddie was talking so fondly of them and offering his assistance so readily or because Teddie was making bear-puns and saying things like 'fo sho' with a straight face. Still, he figured beggars can't be choosers, and the mascot was certainly one of the most pleasant things they had dealt with at all in this foggy nightmarish hellhole. "Well, if that's the case, I'll be taking the orange ones. Thanks man."

"Thank you very much." Souji said, smiling a little. Teddie looked so vibrant, not nervous and shaking in terror like their first meeting, but grinning ear-to-fuzzy-ear like he had come to know Teddie. It took everything in Souji's power not to immediately scoop him up in a bear-hug and tell him about how amazing the human world was or how much he'd love to eat topsicles with them at Shiroku, or about a little human girl who would absolutely love to meet him, as soon as she got to meet him. Instead, he opted for a small bow as he took the grey glasses from his paws.

As he and Yosuke slipped on the glasses, it was like the fog faded away. The pounding in his temple subsided, as did the vague smell of ozone. Yosuke blinked wearily, taking the glasses on and off a couple of times before adjusting to it. "This... Thing just don't make sense here, do they?" He asked, his voice riddled with frustration.

"The faster you accept it, the easier it gets." Souji sighed.

Still, even with how irritatingly nonsensical this whole damn place was, at least he could see clearly now. Yosuke peered out the door, looking down the road, "This is the right street." He said, "Saki-Senpai's liquor store is down the road from here."

"Then we better hurry," Chie said, "I'll take the lead this time. I'm pretty sure I know where to go, but just keep a look out in case I miss it, alright?" She asked Yosuke, who nodded in response. "Also, everyone keep a look out in case more of those ball-shadow-things come around."

"Right-o, Chie-chan!" Teddie saluted, as he attempted to look as gruff as he can, "I'm sure you guys will crush anything that stands in your way!"

The group started to walk along again, this time with the added confidence of clear sight and Teddie's giddy disposition guiding them along. It felt a lot harder feeling worried, now that the headache was gone, he could see and he was wearing good-quality armor. All things considered, Souji was really trying to keep calm in the situation they were walking towards, to maintain a confident and serious face as they walked the abandoned streets of the fake Inaba.

But the lack of Izanagi blared in his mind, drumming away at his chest even with what little confidence he could muster up.

He truly had no idea what they were going to do if Yosuke's Shadow attacked.


	5. Where Was My Fault

Chapter Four: Where Was My Fault

_As further warning, I cannot guarantee when you will be able to use him again, or even if you will use him again._

He forgot about Igor's warning. No, Souji cursed to himself, he hadn't forgotten. He just didn't believe it would pertain to this. He was so sure that he would be able to earn Izanagi again that he wouldn't have Izanagi for this jaunt, that he wouldn't be able to just walk into the TV World and walk out with a Persona again, with no trouble.

The Kevlar rested heavily on top of his ruined school shirt, covering up the blood stains, rips and bandaging work. Souji didn't even bother taking the blazer into account, instead shoving it into the backpack before they left. He would have to purchase a new shirt and blazer as soon as possible, and dispose of the ruined ones. Probably in the dumpster behind Junes, if only just to keep them as far from home and from his uncle as he could.

Stupid. Even with all of the planning, Souji didn't take Izanagi's disappearance into account. If he had Izanagi, the last fight would have never gotten so bad, nor would he be so worried about the possible outcome of what would happen with Yosuke's Shadow.

The brunette boy already begun to look stern and battle-hardened, his face as grim as he could muster, knives in each hand, music eking out through his headphones. He had to admit, Yosuke was trying to play up a serious image now. At the same time, he knew how much of it was merely an act, an attempt to cover up for the missteps back at the armory. He was aware of the possible danger, yes, but he wasn't aware of how dangerous it would be, or how badly his mind and heart were about to be chewed up and spat out like spoiled meat.

On the other hand, a Persona like Jiraiya, one with healing abilities and a wide variety of skills, would at least alleviate how bad the fight against Saki's potential Shadow could go. Near-instantaneous magical healing, in the midst of combat, was always preferable to doping one's self up with pain medication or stopping mid-fight to drag an ally off to wrap medical tape around their bleeding wounds.

But he also remembered how absolutely drained Yosuke was in back in the first timeline, barely able to stand up straight, he had stumbled off into the night when they got back. And even if he wasn't exhausted from the experience, Souji hated the idea of forcing his best friend- or at least someone he considered his best friend, even if he barely knew Souji now- to go get emotionally shredded and have a nervous breakdown unknowingly, just for the sake of healing magic in an impossible battle.

"Hey," Chie said, as she paused for a moment, turning to Souji and Teddie, "You both know more about this place. What's up with the red and black light?"

"Red and black..." Souji said, stumbling off his train of thought. From down the street, they could see the warning lights emanating from the false Konishi Liquor Store, streaking down the street in alternating streaks. He shook his head, trying to shake off the feelings of being lost in his own mind. Did they really get so far before he even realized? Souji really needed to keep him mind on the task at hand, not ruminate uselessly. "This is the right place. Normally, the lights only appear when we find the... place the victim is located. The best word I can think of is dungeon."

Even after reducing the volume of his music, Yosuke lowered his headphones to participate in the conversation. "Does anyone know if there's any more of those floating tongue-balls or other monsters like that?"

"You mean the Hablerie?" Teddie asked, before sniffing at the air. "I don't smell any of them around... I think you guys probably scared the rest off before."

"Well, that's good at least." Chie said, "So we're good to go in, r-"

_**Ugh. I wish Junes would go under...**_

The voices had no discernible starting point, apparently echoing off everywhere within the alley as if the buildings and streets themselves were talking. Everyone stopped, shocked at the sudden stream of voices, not just the sudden and coherent voice of a bitter woman, but angry and barely incomprehensible whispers, mumbling names of shops with sadness and anger, breathing out streams of curses about how so many places were going out of business.

"What the hell... What is this?" Yosuke said, the color draining from his face. He already knew how unpopular Junes was back at Inaba. He heard the same thing often, directly behind his back as if he was deaf or stupid. He glared around, looking up and down the streets for whoever was talking, but the streets remained as barren as before.

_**It's all because of that store.**_

"Where is it coming from?" Chie asked, looking around at the empty streets and abandoned houses. The loneliness of this place was bad enough, but with the sudden echo of voices, it just chilled her to the bone, like a living ghost story. For a moment, she wondered how Yukiko would feel about that thought, after all she always did prefer horror to Chie. "We're the only ones here..."

"How should I know?" Teddie replied, before frowning in confusion "The more people come into this place, the more odd things like this happen. I don't know why these voices come around, all I know is this is reality for the ones who lives here."

"Reality for the... That doesn't make any sense," Yosuke said, snapping much harsher than he intended.

_**I heard Konishi-san's daughter is working there.**_

"It reflects off people's minds." Souji said, trying to draw the group's attention away from the ghostly voices. "When you come into this place, the things you keep hidden in the back of your mind, your worries, your desires, all of your hidden most thoughts, they all come spilling out and makes places like this." He motioned around the street, "What Teddie says is true, this becomes a showcase of how people see their reality."

"Wait, do you mean this is..." Yosuke said, trailing off in growing horror at the end. The desolate crumbling streets. The nagging, vicious whispers. Even the monsters, the floating mouths with bright red lips and chattering mouths...

_**Oh my... How could she, with her family's business suffering like it is... ?**_

Was this Saki-Senpai's reality?

Souji frowned sadly, before resuming, "This is all from Senpai, a reflection of her mind and her worries." He couldn't say he was shocked when Yosuke suddenly grabbed at his collar, pulling Souji close with a harsh jerk, but he still looked away, not wanting to look at Yosuke in the eye.

"Why the hell didn't you say anything about this before!?" Yosuke snapped, shaking Souji by his collar harshly "This whole 'her reality' thing would have been useful to know before all this! Stop with all of this evasive shit!"

"Knock it off!" Chie snapped back, pushing between the two. Souji nearly fell back from the stumble, while Yosuke directed his glare at her instead. "Look, fighting like this is not going to help anyone, and it's really not going to help Senpai!"

_**I heard their sales have gone downhill because of **_**Junes**_**. **_

The last voice carried a bitter little trill at the end of the statement, hissing Junes like a slur. Yosuke glared at the sky, some vain attempt at locating the sources of the voices, before looking down back at the group. Chie looked ready to punch him, her hands already balled into fists, while Souji was looking away like an abused dog that had been kicked by his master. Even Teddie was looking at this situation in shock, taking to standing by Souji, although whether he was comforting Souji or attempting to hide behind Souji he couldn't really say.

Yosuke winced. What kind of ass was he acting like? He was cowering behind Souji and bandaging up his wounds one moment, ready to strangle him and screaming at him for being an evasive little shit the next. "I..." He started to apologize, still wincing at the murmuring voices from the sky.

_**That poor father... To have his own daughter working for the enemy. **_

"S-Stop it..." He said to the sky. Why didn't she ever say anything about this? He couldn't do anything about it, not like he could make his family pack up, close the store and leave Inaba... But they were friends, weren't they? He could have at least offered up something, some comfort or reassurance that it wasn't her fault.

_**What a troublesome child...**_

No, she wasn't. She might have looked lazy, but she was a hard worker. And she might have been sarcastic and abrasive at times, but she was a good person deep down. He held back his shouts at the sky, already feeling half-past insane. Huh. No wonder why Souji was so crazy, this sort of place would drive anyone absolutely batshit.

Yosuke felt a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts. He opened his eyes, confused as to when he shut them in the first place, only to see Chie. "I'm... Sorry. It's just... I must look like an idiot..."

"It'll be alright." She said, as she rubbed his shoulder lightly. "You're on edge here, it's a weird and scary place. But we can't just break down now and start fighting each other, we need to keep going. And anyway, I'm not the person you should be apologizing to, isn't that right Souji?"

Souji looked up in surprise, before rubbing his arm. "No... No, it's alright. He's right." It didn't seem like he'd get a better chance to explain the dangers they were going to face. Without Izanagi, he couldn't promise any chance of safety for them, but it was too late for the group to turn back now. He would just need to make do. "It's just... I've been worrying so much about what's going to happen, that I didn't even think about explaining what this place is or how it came around."

"How do you know so much about this place, Sensei?" Teddie asked, pulling at Souji's arm. Souji turned down to the little bear shadow in surprise, his heart skipping a beat.

"Sensei?" Souji asked, trying to keep his voice neutral as possible. He hadn't heard that name in a long time... Partner, Senpai, those names had stuck the longest. Even to the bitter end, he was still Kanji and Naoto's Senpai and Yosuke's Partner. But Teddie had disappeared after the beginning of December... And with the loss of him and Nanako, came too the loss of the names "Sensei" and "Big Bro". He didn't feel deserving of it, like Leader. "Are you sure?" He asked.

Teddie nodded, "Well of course! You know more about this world than I do, and this world is all I know. You knew to bring weapons for shadows, you even know how to fight them very well and things like elemental weaknesses. Why, I'd say you're the smartest person I know!"

"Damnit bear, you know three people." Yosuke grumbled.

"... Well, if you think so..." Souji said, smiling slightly. Sensei... Even if he didn't feel like he deserved it, he still felt a little better hearing it. Still, it was no time for these sort of thought, they needed to be warned and they needed to go into the Liquor store.

"Alright." Souji took a moment to collect himself, "Remember what I said before about things that grown from your anger and stress? Well... Those are Shadows too."

"You see, everyone has some aspect of their lives that they keep to themselves and cover up, something that fills them with shame or a secret they fear will make people around them hate them, so they bury it inside. But when you come here, especially forcefully like Senpai was, this place forces up those things that you try to keep buried. Your secrets become, essentially..." He motioned to the empty streets and the murmuring sky. Even now, with the voices quieted, occasionally the group could make out words.

_**Shameful girl... **_

_**How selfish... **_

_**If only Junes wasn't around...**_

"It's almost like a prison," Yosuke muttered, looking down the streets. "Especially with the fog around here. Even if you try to get out, you're just going to be going around in circles and getting sicker each time."

The more he knew about this place, the stronger his resolve became. Saki needed to be broken out of this place and taken... Well, he wasn't even sure at this point. Back to Inaba? With the way she felt about Inaba made so abundantly clear, he didn't feel right just abruptly saying 'hey, we dragged you out of hell, now let's take you back to the place your mind based your personal hell on'. But even without knowing where he could even take her, he knew he had to get her the hell away from this place.

And he thought he hated boring, stupid Inaba.

"It gets worse," Souji said, "You remember what I said about things that come from your anger and stress, and the Shadows we just fought? Well... In fact, everyone has a Shadow."

"... What, you mean the tongue balls?" Yosuke asked.

"They're not all tongue balls." Souji muttered. Normally, he'd be amused by the sarcasm, but quite frankly all of the interruptions were not helping him actually claw the truth of the situation out. It seemed doubtful they'd let him shut up with that, and even if they did... He couldn't keep hiding the truth about the situation forever. "Quite frankly, I wish they were all Hablerie. It might be better than the alternative... It's a living personification of your inner thoughts, all of those secrets before, and it wants to be acknowledged by you as being part of you. And it's going to keep on trying to make you accept it, no matter how much you refuse it."

"Well... What happens if you don't?" Chie asked. Souji went quiet for a moment, face grim and haggard, as she continued, "I mean, these are all the parts of yourself that you hate, right? I can't really see most people just taking it in stride and accepting it... This must sound ridiculous, doesn't it? I mean, you've seen this sort of thing before, I'm sure I'm completely off-base on it."

"No, you have a good question." Souji said, voice growing more stiff as he continued, "When people reject them, that's when the real trouble begins. Compared to them, a shadow like the 'tongue balls' is chump change."

These were questions that did need answering, especially before they went in. But the more into detail he went, the harder he just wanted to send Chie and Yosuke back, and Teddie as well. It was bad enough the first fight, but forcing them to tag along when they had to chase down Shadow Saki left a bad taste in his mouth.

No, he corrected himself mentally. He wasn't forcing them along. They were insistent on coming along. They demanded to be a part of this, and they both had full rights to be a part of this and to go in with as much information as he could. Yosuke was right, he really did need to stop with this evasive nonsense. He glanced at the group, before going stark white with panic.

Yosuke was already entering the building, the black and red lights pouring over him as he walked in.

"Wait, you need to let me explain!" Souji shouted, as he ran over, "Weren't you the one who called me out on not being forthcoming enough? At least hold on for us!"

Yosuke shook his head for a moment, trying to clear out the image of Saki writhing on the floor, hair darkened and slicked with blood. "Look, I-" He stumbled over his words, looking down at the ground as another round of echoes clawed through the air. He needed to know, yes, he wanted to know what was going on so goddamn bad, but... God, he must look really freakin' bad now, freaking the hell out about secrets one minute, running off on his own into a goddamn dungeon the next.

He'd be able to think if he got out of here. Maybe it would be more quiet in the liquor store, or at least more muffled. Then, they could talk reasonably, without him wanting to scream at the crumbled Inaba and the ghostly voices, the ones that felt they had the right to rag on Junes despite happily shopping there, and to call Senpai such horrible things. "-I'm sorry, alright. Let's just get going. We'll talk inside, where it's safer."

"Yosuke, you don't know that! Hold on!" Chie shouted, jaunting off to catch up to the brunette boy already inside of the building. Stupid Yosuke, what was he thinking... This wasn't any time to run off impatiently. His edginess in this place was really beginning to piss her off, nevermind leaving her sick with worry. As soon as they got someplace safe and all of this was over, she was going to kick his face in for being so... So...

She nearly jumped out of her skin as she felt Souji's hand on her shoulder. "Think calmly." He said, pulling the sword out. "Think calmly, think rationally. Whatever you do, don't let this place get to you."

"Or what? One of those things will come out of me too?" She asked, somewhere between angered and legitimately concerned. The look in his face, the quiet worry embedded in his eyes and his furrowed brow, answered her question before he could even begin. "... Oh god, really? They just come out like that?"

"I can explain later- I WILL explain later," Souji said, "But right now, we need to get Yosuke and Senpai out of here before things get more out of control."

* * *

Even with his headphones on, the loudest metal he could pull up on his iPod blaring, he could still hear murmuring voices. At this point, Yosuke had given up on trying to think about this place logically. The corrupted Konishi Liquor Store, barely a hole in the wall shop that couldn't be any taller than a story at most on the outside, was a massive, sprawling warehouse on the inside, littered with kegs of sake, wine and beer as far as the eye could see. Fridge cases full of bottles and cans wrapped around the room haphazardly, acting as a false set of walls, while casks of cheap booze acted as support beams for the ceiling.

It wasn't the impossible visuals that were getting to him at this point, he was getting worryingly adjusted to that sort of thought. No, it was the voices, the voices that no matter what he played, how loud he shouted, or how tightly he covered his ears, he just couldn't drown out.

_**Saki, how many times do I have to tell you?!**_

Yosuke winced at the voice, not even attempting to find the origin. There was no origin, it was just from this place. He wasn't going to find Saki's old man around, the towering and heavy-set owner of Konishi Liquors that he had thankfully only saw once. He had lucked out in not getting berated by the man, but he had seen him glaring through his shop window while he had walked to school, as did many of his other fellow shop keeps.

He began taking a different route to school the next day, winding around the flood plan instead of walking down the shopping district, even if it would've been the shorter route to take.

_**You know what the neighbors say about you, right?! Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You're the eldest daughter of a family who's owned this store for generations! Is it the money? Or did you meet some guy there? Just tell me why you had to work THERE, of all places! **_

She always seemed like she was having a fun time at work. Saki never complained, often asked to pick up extra shifts and would even participate in "employee fun-tivities" with a smile on her face. She could have always spoken up about this, let him know. Even if there was nothing he could've done, he would've listened, he would've tried to be there for her. Yosuke took off the headphones, disgusted at their inability to block out the noise even if they left his ears ringing.

Yosuke turned around, attempting to catch any sight of Saki, or any monsters, or really anything else. Thankfully, the rest of the group were catching up at this point, Teddie lagging behind both of the humans, while Souji held Chie back by her elbow, most likely to keep her from hauling off and punching him in the face.

Normally, the sight of an enraged Chie would scare the hell out of him. However, between the slanderous echoes, the nonsense liquor store 'dungeon', and the re-occurring thought of Saki-Senpai with her hair bloodied, her forehead slashed, writhing in a filthy puddle of old booze and blood on the ground, at the mercy of Hable-whatevers or worse, he felt like he had much bigger problems than an angry Chie.

Her fists were balled up still, but her face wasn't red with rage like he was expecting, but surprisingly pale. Meanwhile, Souji just clenched his sword in one shaky hand, attempting to be ready for anything to burst out, even as he was jumping out of his skin from anxiety.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Chie snapped at Yosuke, as she ran up and grabbed his shoulders tightly, "You already know there are monsters and crap around here! You can't just be running off like that! You could get killed!"

Yosuke winced, looking away from Chie's face. "I know... Shit, I know, alright?" He felt a second hand on his shoulder, not nearly as clenched as Chie's and more of a calming sense.

"Panicking like this," Souji said, as he softly pulled Chie away from close to Yosuke's neck, "Is the worst thing any of us can do. Chie, I know you're really angry at Yosuke and how he's acting right now, and Yosuke, I know this place is getting to you and you're feeling close to a nervous breakdown, but we all need to calm down right now. Just hold it together. We'll find Senpai, we'll get out of here, and as soon as we're back out, we can talk about all of this back at the se-" He paused, initially to correct himself- _there wasn't a Secret Headquarters, not yet. It was still the Junes Food Court_- when the sound of a hard crash and a woman screaming echoed out from the back. No, it wasn't the same as the echoes, that screamed out from the sky and had no discernible location where they came from. It was definitely close, less than twenty feet away, and a familiar voice as well.

"Saki!" Yosuke cried, jerking away from Chie and Souji hard, as he ran to the source of the voice. The pair and Teddie chased after him, reaching a door that looked like a storage closet covered in yellowed posters and liquor advertisements. Immediately, Souji grabbed both of the brunettes by the wrists and yanked them back, pointing at his sword before anyone could comment.

The group hesitated for a second, even with the sound of a pained moan coming from inside the closet. Running in haphazardly again was not going to happen, not with the potential chance of the Shadow Saki on the other side of the door. Chie slid into a backstance, while Yosuke twirled the knives in as threatening of a manner as he could achieve. Souji handed a first-aid kit to Teddie, as he readied the imitation katana.

"If there's a Shadow in there, get the girl out of there and get her to safety." Souji grimly said. There was... No good choice at this point. With no Izanagi, or any Persona for that matter, he didn't have any idea if they would be strong enough to fight against a Shadow. Even with the multitudes of firecrackers, ice and pinwheels, there was no promise she wouldn't be naturally immune or regenerate damage from those elements. All he could hope was they'd be able to muscle their way through the fight and that Teddie would be able to get himself and Senpai to safety.

"But I don- What is this- Wait, this is the same kind of box that Yosuke was using before! Sensei, what am I supposed to do with this?" Teddie said, jostling the first-aid kit around in his hands. As far as he knew, this was what was used on the red dripping liquid that came out of humans when they were hurt, but he had no idea what he was supposed to do with that. The entire idea of humans being filled with... Jam, or juice, or whatever the red was, and you just tie it off with white ribbons just didn't make any sense.

Souji winced, "Right. You don't know human first aid..." He mumbled, as he reached out for the door. "I wish I could explain, but there's no more time for that. The girl, Saki, she'll tell you what to do." If she was awake. If she could still speak. If she and Teddie actually did get to safety, and were both coherent enough to do anything at that point. Damn. He hated not being able to provide for this situation, not to already have this planned out. The sinking feeling in his chest started again, _you already failed_ playing in his mind.

No.

There wasn't time to think like that.

Even with things going wrong, they had to keep going.

Shoving the thoughts out of his mind, he nodded to Yosuke, who stood by the storage room door, holding the handle and prepared to open the door at any point. With a quick flick of the wrist, the door swung open.


	6. In Loving You With My Whole Heart

"Ahh... Shit..." Saki murmured, as she rolled to her side. Her left leg and arm ached almost as bad as her head. Well, of course they did, she just fell down a flight of stairs. All things considered, she was lucky she didn't break her neck in the fall.

Then again, she'd almost rather break her neck than her leg. A broken neck would be quick, compared to whatever that thing upstairs was planning. The thing with... Bright, golden eyes that she could make out even through this thick blue fog, that made such a vicious, cold grin with her face. It had her face. How could it have her face? She groaned, partly in pain, partly from the thought of what lay upstairs.

No. She was okay. It couldn't follow her anyway, not chained to the walls as it was. Maybe that was the only thing that kept her safe from it, even as it shrieked in her voice to come back and acknowledge her. Was that thing telling the truth before? Was it really...

She heard the door creak. Saki scrambled to her knees, backing away from the door as it swung open. Oh no. Oh no, not more of those things, not another one of those golden-eyed versions of herself, certainly not one that was constrained to barrels of old sake and rum, what the hell was she going to do without a weapon or anything to-

"Saki-Senpai?"

Her chest tightened. Oh god. Hana-chan. Hana-chan was here...

Saki honestly couldn't tell if she was relieved or horrified.

No, he couldn't be here. How could he get here? Not in this place. It must be another trick of this place, another copy like the golden-eyed doppleganger upstairs chained to the walls that screamed at her to look at it, to stay. It had to be a fake Yosuke, flanked by other shadows, even that bulbous shrieky bear-monkey-thing from before was there.

"H-How did you..." Saki stuttered, as she attempted to pull herself up to her feet. With a yelp, she fell back over, at a sudden jolt of pain shooting out from her ankle. She down at her left leg, pulling back the sock to see her ankle was swollen and puffy, at least sprained from before. It just sort of figured she'd sprain her ankle in her attempt to escape.

Instinctively, Yosuke ran up, dropping the nata to the ground with a clatter as he reached down to help Saki up. As he grabbed her sides, she jerked back, slapping him instinctively as she attempted to pull back.

"No! Get back!" Saki yelped, as she attempted to scramble away. The whole day had blended together in a grotesque mash- the park, the delivery guy, the cops, the stone, the fog, the girl with her face and the vivid golden eyes- and she wanted nothing more than to huddle away and not talk to anyone until she got the hell out of this corrupted Inaba. Even if she wasn't in any position to fight, to take on a second fake with the rattle of metal, she didn't want to die in this place. Not like this. "Don't touch me!"

"Calm down, it's just me," Yosuke said, as he attempted to be soothing. He backed off a bit, going to his knees, but he remained close to the older student in the midst of a panic attack. "Please Senpai, you need to listen to me, alright? We need to get out of here, I mean, you're bleeding all over the place and it's really dangerous, so please... Just listen to me." He attempted to reach out again, this time just pushing back some of her tangled, filthy hair away from her face.

He drew a sharp breath in surprise, looking at the deep scratch on her forehead. No wonder why she was bloody as hell, it look like she took a knife to the face. Or maybe a broken bottle or a claw hammer? Who the hell would attack Saki like that? Still, it seemed like she was calming down as she stared him in the eyes; her breathing was going back to a steady rhythm instead of choked and panicked gasp. He could see Souji and Teddie kneeling down as Chie just stood by in her ever-vigilant stance.

"It's... It's really you, isn't it Hana-chan?" Saki asked. Hana-chan was here, wielding... Something metal, that he just dropped. She could barely make him out in the shadows, save for his normal, surprisingly soothing brown eyes. Behind him stood the bulbous creature with the shrieky voice from before, as well as his two classmates from yesterday, Satonaka-chan and... What was his name? Narukami? Tunoku? She didn't remember the kid's name, all she knew was he was the new transfer student and apparently had a katana.

"In the flesh," Yosuke said, "We came to rescue you... Looks like we got here just in time too." He frowned, before turning back to the group, "We still have two of the kits, right? Maybe we can go upstairs to find a sink or maybe a table-"

"NO!" Saki blurted out, drawing the attention of the entire group. She trembled at the thought of going back upstairs. She was lucky to get away in the first place; only by the grace of the kami and the strength of its bindings did she get away. She huddled down, covering her head with her arms as she whimpered, "Please don't make me go back up there... Not back up to that thing again."

"Take it easy Saki-Senpai," Yosuke said, rubbing her shoulders in an attempt to soothe again. He winced, "It's alright, we don't have to go back there, we'll just stay down here and leave as soon as possible. We just... Need to find a place where we can bandage you up." He looked around the stairwell, as he spoke. The floor itself was a mess of long-spilled liquors and unknown sticky stains, while the walls were littered with shelves, several of which were crammed full of empty bottles of bleach and other cleaning supplies. "Not here though, this place is disgusting."

"We passed a table when we came in here. It looked like it was covered in junk, and papers, but we can use that instead of trying to go upstairs or staying here and trying to do it." Chie said, before sheepishly adding, "I don't know much about first aid... Oh! But I know I can keep guard."

"A table covered in junk..." Souji mumbled. He knew exactly what table Chie was referencing, the memory of the shredded Junes employee photos lingering in his mind. It was a good thing he had barely eaten all day, as he felt his stomach churn at the thought of Yosuke seeing the photos again... Even if the potential of Shadow Yosuke wasn't there, he didn't want to see the poor guy's heart break a second time. "Are you sure there wasn't any other tables around?"

"Just the one that I saw." Chie said, looking back out into the liquor store. Then again, looking around this place was just giving her a headache, not the same sort of headache like she had before she got the Teddie-glasses, but a stress headache from just looking at this stupid nonsense building. Buildings shouldn't be massive sprawling palaces of booze and fridges on the inside, not when they're two-room single-story shops on the outside, right? "I mean, do you want me to look around more? Maybe there's another table, or a bed or something, I mean that would be weird having a bed in the middle of a liquor store, but this whole place is weird central already... But that's probably just ridiculous, isn't it? Don't mind me, it's just Chie being Chie."

"No, it's... It's fine," Souji said. "Don't separate off, if something attacks you while you're up ahead, then..." He frowned, the thought of Chie's scratchy sobs over the phone back in the last timeline playing in his mind. "... Just stay close. The other table should be fine."

"What is this 'first aid' anyway? That's the thing you wanted me to do in case we found the girl, right?" Teddie said, as he jostled around the white box in his hands.

"Actually, please give me that back." Souji said to Teddie, as he took the first aid kit back. As problematic the table was, at least it looked less likely to give Senpai an indirect infection. And it was better lit than the dark, dank supply-closet stairwell. "We're going to get out of this room really quick. Do you mind if someone carries you to a table, so we can bandage your ankle?"

"I'll-I'll be fine..." Saki mumbled. Her mind was a buzz, the sickening terror still latched onto her brain along with the utter shock of how Hana-chan and his friends got to this place. How on earth did Hana-chan find this place anyway? For that matter, what WAS this place, besides the worst place she had ever been in her life? She attempted to pull herself up, only to tip over due to her damnable aching ankle, this time only to be caught by Hana-chan.

"Hey, it's alright." Yosuke said, smiling gently as he wrapped his arms around Saki for support. It probably wasn't the best idea touching her, especially with how terrified she was and the fact she just slapped him in his first attempt to pick her up, but Saki-Senpai really wasn't in any position to walk at this point. "I've got you, so don't worry. As soon as we've got you bandaged up, we should be ready to get out of here."

"Is there anyway we can leave sooner?" Saki said. The voices would start echoing again, she was sure of it. And even if the golden-eyed girl with her face was chained to heavy casks upstairs, those voices were omnipresent, especially the one that had... Started ragging on... Hana-chan... Shit. "Really, I think we should leave, like, right now."

"You can't even walk." Yosuke grumbled, as the group walked out of the stairwell. The room still looked empty at least, none of those Hablerie floating around or any other Shadows for that matter. The table wasn't too far away, and if Souji's response to the first aid was any indication, she might be able to walk after being bandaged up.

Or maybe he was just really good at hiding his pain, and shouldn't be waving around that katana with how fucked up his shoulder got before, and maybe they'd be better off running flat-out and bandaging her up back at the TV-lot or, better, back at home. "Wait, did the kit do anything before?" He asked Souji.

"It did help," Souji admitted, eyes darting around the room nervously, as the group made their way to the table. Having to run out with a crippled Saki would be a worse detriment than the alternative, especially if anything did come out swinging. He needed the entire party up and ready, instead of someone, probably Yosuke, sidelined to protect the injured girl while the other two were caught up in combat. As they walked back out, he grabbed the nata from the floor, frowning to himself.

Immediately, Souji dashed over to table Chie pointed out and swept several papers to the floor, shoving them out of view as fast as he could. "Let's get this done as quick as we can," Souji said, face grim with worry. At least the offending photos, especially the ripped and torn Junes employee group photo, were out of the way. Hopefully they can just keep focused long enough on helping Senpai where they could ignore the echoes. They should leave, or at least Yosuke should leave, but separating the group or escaping with a downed party member and no Goho-M was a terrible idea.

It seemed like a helpful thing to do but Yosuke had to admit, the way Souji was suddenly acting was strange. Well, stranger than before. Still, it didn't seem important enough to complain about. The weird sudden dash and dramatic table-sweep didn't matter. What mattered was Saki-Senpai was alive, and Saki-Senpai was going to be safe.

Hey. They did it. They went in, fought monsters, saved the girl, and now it was all downhill from here. They were heroes.

For the first time, the experience seemed... Kind of cool. Certainly exciting, as unbelievably shitty it was, but also seemed sort of really cool, in that _they really were heroes holy shit._

"Hey Hana-chan," Saki said, as he set her down on the table lightly, handling the bruised girl with the utmost care he could. "Really, maybe we should get going, I mean I'm not all that heavy. I bet you can carry me out of here, instead of going through this much trouble." She rambled, as she scanned the room nervously. It was too quiet in here, way too quiet compared to how it was before. She neither heard any of the fights with her father here nor those gossipy bitches from down the road that were quite happy to pity her family's failing shop but didn't bother buying anything from them. This place was far from kind and eventually, whatever reprise she and the rest of this motley group received would be immediately revoked.

Yosuke frowned, looking down at Saki and the gash on her forehead. "At least let's take care of that," He said, pointing to the forehead wound. She looked like she was near-ready to lose her mind here, and they really should just leave and take care of all of this at least out of the liquor store, but she was still losing blood. A lot of blood. Wait, could someone bleed openly from the head for like a half a day and not die? He didn't really know too much medical shit, but eventually people bleed out, don't they? "How long have you been bleeding anyway?"

"Bleeding, wha...?" Saki said, before tapping her forehead. Her hand, as she pulled it away, was slick with blood. "Holy-" She yipped at first, before grabbing her forehead to attempt to staunch the bleeding, "It must have happened when I fell down the stairs."

The group went silent at that, everyone stopping to look at her. The grey-haired transfer student and the brunette boy stopped with the makeshift handwashing station they were attempting with a bottle of water and several of the peroxide towelettes that came in the kit and looked Saki straight in the eye. "When you fell down the stairs?" Souji asked, barely audible.

"Yeah, I think... I'm pretty sure," She said, wincing a bit, "Why's everyone staring at me? I mean, is tripping down the stairs here that surprising?"

"It's not the stairs that's the 'shocking' thing," Yosuke said, brushing hair away from the gash on her forehead. "Are you sure you just got this just now?"

"Yeah, I guess," Saki said, as she pulled away, "I got hurt from falling down the stairs. It's as surprising as my busted ankle."

"Senpai," Chie said, breaking out of her combat stance, "You were on the TV yesterday."

"That stupid interview, right?" Saki muttered. She attempted to wipe away the blood with her sleeve, damn the sticky old booze on her clothes from the ground, she wanted to get the blood off her face now that she was aware of it. "The news guys said no one would be able to recognize me, but I should have known they would have screwed that up."

"No," Yosuke said. "Around midnight, you were on the TV again, and you were already hurt."

"Have you heard of the Midnight Channel?" Souji asked.

"The Midnight Channel? It's an urban legend, I guess. Some of the kohai have been freaking out about it recently, like five or six guys saw that announcer lady," Saki shivered a little as she spoke. The image of Mayumi Yamano's corpse, dangling from the telephone pole, staring at her with lifeless eyes flashed in her mind, for a second. She took a moment to compose herself, "But most of my class hasn't really talked about it. Everyone's too focused on either arranging a full-time job for after graduation or cram school to really bring up urban legends."

"Well..." Yosuke started up, looking away as he spoke, "Last night we saw you on the Midnight Channel too. Not only that, but when we saw you, you already had that cut, at least."

"This Midnight Channel..." Teddie said, pulling at Souji's sleeve, "What does it have to do with here, Sensei? We don't have any of those 'tee-vee' things around, so I never saw anything like a Midnight Channel."

Saki nearly threw herself out of Yosuke's arms in shock as she scrambled madly. "Shit!" She shouted, "It's talking! It's really talking! How on earth is it talking?!"

"I'm not an 'it', I'm a Teddie!" Teddie snapped, visibly frowning.

"It's just a guy in a costume, calm down-oof!" Yosuke said, trying to soothe her as best as he could, even as he took an elbow to the face in her scramble. He winced, positive he just got a black eye to go with that slap mark and the smears of blood from before, "Take off the costume already, Ted. You're scaring her."

"Costume, what... But I'm not wearing a cost-" Teddie started, only for Souji to leap in front of him. After everything that happened, the last anyone needed was for Teddie to remove his head.

"I don't think we have time for this conversation right now. Besides, he's safer like that, and it's as good of an idea for him to take off the bear-suit as it is for you to take off your chainmail," Souji said, as he attempted to drive the subject away from Teddie's skin, "Anyway, right now, we just need to staunch the bleeding and get you up and walking so we can get out of here." He glanced up to the ceiling again. The room was so quiet now, the chattering voices silenced. He had to wonder how much of it was playing off his own fears as well as Senpai's, just holding back it's tirades until they least expected it.

As Yosuke brushed her hair to the side and began swabbing the wound with ointment, he had to wonder about the cut. If it only happened just now, how was it playing on the Midnight Channel? Maybe Senpai hadn't realized she was already injured until just now, but that was almost a day ago. Pretty long time to not notice a bleeding wound on your face, especially with how it clung to her hair and shirt. It was probably marred on his jacket and shirt now too, after carrying her back out.

How the hell did the show work anyway?

"I'm sorry." She said, as Yosuke stuck a large bandage on her forehead. It probably needed stitches, but even if he had the sort of things you need for stitches- needles, clamps, maybe some form of special hospital wire, he didn't know- he wouldn't even try to give it a shot. Maybe have Souji do it, he seemed pretty on the ball about shit, and was crazy-prepared if his supply was any indication. Still, Saki seemed to be bleeding less, or at least it didn't bleed through the thin bandage. "For slapping you before, I mean. And the black eye."

"It's... Fine. It's fine. I'll be fine." Yosuke said, looking away and giving as gentle as a smile as he could. "I'm just glad you're okay, you know?" He noticed the pile of papers in the corner, the same ones Souji had so quickly rushed over to shove away. Seemed kind of ridiculous, in a way. It didn't look like anything that offensive, nothing like porn or guro images. If anything, they looked like cut-up photos of the part-timers from Junes.

Wait.

"Wha-What are you doing? Don't look at those-" Souji stuttered, attempting to kick away the papers only to be held back by a surprisingly hard shove from Yosuke. He reeled for a moment, more from the Yosuke's discovery than being pushed back. "Seriously, trust me. You don't need to look at them. Don't even think about them. Don't think about anything."

"What the hell is your problem all of a sudden?" Yosuke snapped, before kneeling down to look at the pile more closely. He didn't notice Souji's sudden overt paleness and mild tremble, nor did he notice the guilty expression on Saki's face, as she turned away. He was more caught by the collection of photos.

The photos look like they were torn by hand, some almost reduced to illegible scraps while others looked barely touched. Even the ones with lightly torn edges still were covered in scratch marks, especially on the employees. Some of them, like Kyouko and Mayu, were scribbled over in black marker, while others like Saki, were untouched. Well, untouched save for katakana scribbling "backstabber" over her face.

His own face had been scratched off entirely, his body completely marred over with the marker.

"Saki... What happened?" Yosuke asked, voice obviously shaken. "Why is it cut up like this?"

_**I... Never had the chance to say it...**_

Not now.

_**I always wanted to tell Hana-chan...**_

They were so close now.

They never should have stopped. Forget the injury, Saki was right, Yosuke could have carried her. Forget the potential danger they had with trekking onwards with a crippled party-member. They were going to die, and Souji should have prevented it, but he hadn't.

Souji bit back his bile as he stepped back, resting his hand on the hilt of his blade. Chie turned to him, confused and increasingly worried at Souji's nerves and the re-occurrence of the voices. Teddie stayed close to him, still holding onto his sleeve from before, the grip of his paw tightening.

Yosuke looked up at the echoes, a light blush going over his cheeks. Was this... What he thought it was? Here? His heart skipped a beat at the thought, a glimmer of hope painting over this stupid, fucked up experience. But it seemed wrong, with the shuffle of panic happening behind him and with Saki-Senpai curling up in a startled ball, covering her ears and looking like she was about to puke. "Is it..." He started to ask, only to be cut off.

… _**That he was a real pain in the ass. **_

And now his voice was caught in his throat.

Yosuke blinked hard, stunned at just how goddamn quickly that went. Huh. Well. Goddamn. Fuck. His eyes stung.

_**I was nice to him, just because he was the store manager's son, that's all... But he takes it completely the wrong way and gets all enthusiastic... What a dip. **_

"H-" His voice cracked. Yosuke stopped, looking down at the scraps of paper and ruined photos. His face, scrubbed out with a coin or a finger nail. Her face, marked with the word "backstabber". The photo in his hand was getting wet, probably a drip from this disgusting place. His eyes stung like hell; probably the mold or the dust was getting to him. "Huh." Yosuke finally croaked out, rubbing his eyes. His hands were smeared, again with the mix of antibiotic gel and blood- her blood- but he couldn't find himself caring about that.

_**Who cares about Junes anyway? Because of that store, our business is ruined, my parents hate me, the neighbors talk behind my back... I wish everything would just disappear.**_

"Hana-chan-" Saki said.

"Don't." Yosuke said. His voice was rough, angry. Angry was... Good? He didn't know. God, he didn't know if he wanted to be angry or sad or just relieved she was okay, even if she wanted to disappear, and she hated him and she was just- Just using him, like his friends back in Naha- He should have expected it, it just kept happening didn't it? People using him for fucking Junes, even in this shitty, boring backwater... "Don't, just..." He couldn't even speak at the moment, his chest throbbing, his throat acidic. Yosuke lifted up a hand, as he started to get up. "Not that name."

She was wincing. _God, get a grip man. You were a hero less than a minute ago. A real hotshot. You and your group went in, saved the girl, and killed monsters. _Yosuke thought, as he wiped away at his eyes again, smearing the medical mess all over his face.

_Even if I couldn't do anything in the fight but cower like a bitch. Even if she hates me. Even if I completely fucked up. _

Chie started to walk over, breaking out of her stance. She had no clue what she could do at this point, her friend was obviously crying at the moment, this place was screaming out again, even Senpai looked like she was about to start crying, curled up into a sad and shameful ball as her voice reverberated against the walls. As she took a step, she was suddenly pulled back, Souji holding tightly to her elbow. "We-We can't just leave him like this," She stuttered angrily, pointing at Yosuke as she turned back to Souji. Her argument, as well as her desire to kick Souji's hand away, died in her throat as she got a good look at him.

Souji had gone as white as a sheet, his pupils dilated in abject horror. His sword, sheathed earlier, was out and ready. "I don't have anything with electric." He mumbled, his voice high and nearly incomprehensible. "I didn't plan for this. I didn't plan, didn't bring electric, don't have Izanagi... We're going to..."

"No." Yosuke said, voice harsh and ragged. "No, it's fine. I'm... Fine. See, completely fine." He turned to the group, trying to give some sign of reassurance. No, he wasn't weak, he was strong, strong as anyone else here. What kind of guy bursts out into tears over something like this, his heart just being shattered into a million goddamn pieces? He was fine, he was going to be fine, he wasn't walking out of this place like a hot goddamn mess of tears and anger.

He attempted to smile, only succeeding in roughly baring his teeth. Goddamnit, his eyes still itched. He probably got her blood in them, they were still watering. But he was going to keep it together now. He was going to be fine. Just. Keep. It. Together.

"**It's so sad! Boo-hoo-hoo, I'm just such a sad little mess!" **His voiced said, from across the room, before giving a harsh chuckle.

The group turned, Saki breaking out of her horrified huddle and Yosuke breaking out of the tears. Motes of darkness had pulled into the corner, floating around...

A second Yosuke. A Yosuke with a vilely sarcastic smirk on his face. The shadow, absorbing the motes as they fell on him, laughed bitterly, throwing his head back for a second before looking back down with golden glowing eyes. **"Wow, and all this time, I really thought you were different, SENPAI." **The Shadow Yosuke bitterly said, glaring at her.

Saki crawled backwards, still pulling herself away even as she fell off the table and as her leg ached wildly. "Oh god-" She whimpered, trying to get herself as far from the THING, the thing with Hana-chan's face and Hana-chan's voice, and those horrible, neon eyes. "Oh god, god, not another one!"

"**You know, it's not like I'm all that glad about being here either. Not like I just came here to your town and decided 'yeah, boring little shithole in the middle of the sticks, that's where I to go, so I can ruin everything'. But yet, here you are, just thinking I waltzed into your life just to make you look like an even bigger bitch than usual." **

"L-Leave her out of this!" Yosuke snapped, pulling himself to his sense and leaping in between Saki and the impossible duplicate. He had no idea why something would have the nerve to copy HIS face and go around insulting HIS friends, regardless of what they said. He reached for his nata, before inwardly face-palming. Right. He tossed them down before, when he went to go pick her up before.

The Shadow Yosuke gave a mocking smile, **"What's the matter? Planning to cut me down like one of those nagging tongue-balls? You're going to have to do better than that. But then again... I'm not in any real danger, even if you had them. You'd probably just fuck it up again, and leave it to Chie and the lunatic over there."** He motioned to Chie and Souji with his thumb, as Souji pulled the sword out properly while Chie slid into a back-stance.

"T-Two Yosukes?" Teddie asked, eyes wide with shock over this. Humans could do that? Generate Shadows of themselves like that? Humans were unbearlievably strange, in ways he was really not expecting to see. "He has a shadow?"

"It's like I said before," Souji said grimly, attempting to shunt the horror from his mind. No. This wasn't the time to panic. Even without Izanagi, even without electric-based elemental weapons, they were going to have to fight. "It's a living personification of..." He silenced, not wanting Yosuke to hear him, not to start denying it outright. Maybe they could run, attempt to make a break for it. Nobody had ever flat-out abandoned their Shadow before, at least not in the last timeline. Even so, they'd have to get to Saki, still downed with her sprained ankle, and get to Yosuke, still distracted by the very recent arrival of his Shadow.

"That thing... It was in Yosuke?" Chie blurted, before noticing the horrified stares from Souji and Yosuke, for vastly different reasons.

"No." Yosuke said. "No. Hell no. This-This isn't anything like me."

"**What, did you forget so fast?" **Shadow Yosuke said, stepping closer to Yosuke with every word. The smirk remained glued to his mouth, baring his surprisingly sharp teeth as he spoke, **"You heard what crazy ol' Souji said before, 'it's a living personification of your inner thoughts, all of those secrets before, and it wants to be acknowledged by you'."** The Shadow's voice took a mocking tone as it quoted Souji.

"I-I heard him, alright," Yosuke attempted to pull away, raising his hands up to push the Shadow back. As he tried to slide back, the Shadow leered in closer, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"**But you just wanted to just ignore that part, didn't you?"** Shadow Yosuke said, flourishing his free arm around the non-Euclidean liquor store with sake barrel spires and glass fridge walls,** "You know, focus on all this! A world inside a TV, an unbelievably shitty and frightening and GODDAMN EXCITING world inside the TV with monsters and weapons, and crazy guides who just happen to sit in front of you in class. Man, it's like something from an anime or a game, isn't it?"**

"That's- That's not true," He attempted to pull away, surprised at how strong the mocking fake's grip was. "I mean, the shitty part is true, but all the other crap is total crap, I mean, that's how much crap it is-" He rambled, before the Shadow mushed his cheeks together with it's free hand.

"**Listen to all that shit spilling out of your mouth." **Shadow Yosuke scolded, **"Are you really going to deny this? This place is awful, and you'll probably die because something ripped you to shreds, but it's better than boring, lonely goddamn Inaba, isn't it? I mean, you put on a good show of not caring, and being carefree and happy-go-lucky, but that's because being alone scares the hell out of you." **The Shadow Yosuke slipped back, gripping both of Yosuke's shoulders as it ranted, to get a good look at Yosuke's face as it spoke.

"**It doesn't matter if they hate you or use you, does it? You just need to be surrounded by people, to block out the pain of isolation. As they say, 'the more the merrier', right? It's almost as good as snooping around in this place, trying to play the big 'Macho-Man Action-Hero'. Why, do you really think about what you'd do after you save Saki-Senpai"** The Shadow's voice trilled on "Saki-Senpai", making it sound like a vile little cuss as he spoke, **"That you'd stop? I mean, you were making plans to investigate this place later. After all, there could be more people in this place in the future, so the more you knew and saw of this place, the better off you'd be in the future-"**

"NO!" Yosuke shoved the Shadow hard, slamming it backwards into the ground with a loud, heavy thump, as he screamed at the fake, fake, had-to-be-fake copy of himself that just kept spouting everything in his head, the little thoughts that had been floating around for the past hour. The Shadow Yosuke lay on the ground, silent and still, the only sound in the room being Yosuke's heavy breathing.

For a moment, a single glorious moment, he sincerely wished he had dashed the back of that thing's skull and killed it.

Within that moment, the Shadow shook with a tremulous, deep laugh. **"What?"** It asked innocently, as it sat back up, **"I thought I was just spouting crap. But then, maybe I do know what you're thinking. After all... ****_I am you, aren't I_?****"**

"That's... Not true..." Yosuke whimpered, his hands rising subconsciously to cover his ears. The pit of his stomach burned, his head ached, his heart still beat off-tune and harshly as it felt like his body was just breaking down. It wasn't true. This couldn't be true. It wasn't like that, no he had the best of intentions in coming here, he was trying to do the right thing, he really did love Saki-Senpai even if his heart was just crushed and broken and those damned broken tears were starting again, weren't they. "Shut up."

"**Maybe if you doted on her and showered her with attention, she'd love you! Maybe if you ran into hell itself, knives clenched in your sweaty fists, you could be a hero! But in the end, she hates you and you're nothing but a giant, weeping coward, too scared to even do anything but bandage up people like a sap and let REAL heroes take the hit for you or kick the monsters to death!"**

He could feel the bile in his stomach, in his throat, the ache in his head, all solidifying into a heavy rage, "This isn't true! None of it's true! Like hell you're me, you son of a bitch!"

Souji threw up a little in his mouth.

The Shadow took a moment of silence, that sickeningly sarcastic smile breaking in exchange for a mute face. **"Say it again." **It demanded.

"You're not me," Yosuke chanted, trembling, the sick feeling in his stomach and head growing. He felt almost light-headed, like he was about to be violently sick from... Stress, or anger, or maybe this goddamn place.

With that, the Shadow Yosuke shook with bitter laughter, almost crying from amusement. As the great peel of laughter echoed across the room, the motes of darkness in the room intensified, clouding the room with a cold, almost malleable darkness. **"Again!"** The Shadow Yosuke demanded, eyes still gleaming intense golden bright even as he was a washed in the growing ocean of darkness surrounding him, **"Say it again!"**

"You're not me. You're nothing LIKE me!" Yosuke screamed.

A sudden gust of wind burst through the room, the motes pooling into the corner. The Shadow Yosuke calmed his laughter, while still keeping a smirk as he was enveloped in a wall of shadow, so thick even his gleaming eyes were blotted out by the darkness.

Yosuke gasped, grasping at his throat. It just felt like he took a shot to the guts, the wind being knocked out of him. He attempted to step away, to attempt anything, only to achieve in stumbling over, passing out on the ground.

"Yosuke!" Teddie screamed out.

"Hana-chan!" Immediately, Saki crawled over to the unconscious brunette boy, attempting to pull him away with all of her strength. Even with her broken ankle, she couldn't leave him to just die out here, not after what happened. Her head twinged with guilt, as she knelt down and checked the pulse on his neck. It was still there at least, weaker than it should be from what she could remember from health class, but she could still feel a pulse. The little red and blue thing from before, the thing that declared itself Teddie, dashed over.

"Is he okay, I mean, is he alive, I mean, are humans supposed to just fall asleep like that for no reason?" Teddie rambled, as he looked down to the pair. Any other time, Saki would question more on what the bear-like mascot meant by 'are humans suppose to do that' comment, as if he really wasn't a human in a suit like everyone else seemed to think. Right now, however, she had much bigger concerns.

"We can't just leave him here, it's not safe," Saki said, as she stared at the sea of rapidly whirling dark where the doppleganger golden-eyed Yosuke once stood.

"Oh my god, Yosuke!" Chie shouted, the only thing holding her back from immediately dashing over being Souji's tight grip on her elbow, "Let me go! He just past out! We can't just leave him to die!"

Souji gagged a moment, the taste of acid in his mouth still strong, before he spoke. "We have a much bigger danger, we ALL have a much bigger danger now. Chie..." His stomach churned not just with the horror from before, but with the abject guilt of what he needed to do now, "We're about to be attack by a massive monster, more than five times the size of the Hablerie before. It's going to be huge, it's going to shoot gusts of wind that can knock a man down, and it's going to want to kill all of us, especially Yosuke. If you want to save Yosuke, then please, listen to me and fight along side me now."

Chie stared Souji in the eye, the eerie wind in the room slowing down. "How do you know so much about this?" She asked, as she began to slide into a fighting stance again, standing as rigid and firm as she could even with her confusion and abject horror.

Before he could respond, even make the sheerest glancing of an explanation, the group heard a deep, rumbling crash. Everyone turned, watching as the darkness faded away to reveal the fully grown shadow.

"**That's right."** The corruption in the Shadows gloated viciously, **"I'm me now."**

The thin, lanky torso of a young man, donned in stylized ninja gear with a long red scarf billowing behind him, dangled from on top of a massive, corrupted beast. The beast, body smeared with camouflage designs, with an elongated and razor-tipped mouth, shook the false walls of the liquor store with each rumbling step as it walked up. As the lower body paused, the top torso straightened, staring down the party from behind it's mask.

"**I am a **_**Shadow**_**, the **_**True Self**_**. I'll crush anything that bores or hurts me, starting with all of you."**

Author's Notes: Well, I think we're finally getting to the meat of the story, and the very start of the converging paths. Originally, I had meant for Chapter 4 and 5 to all be the same chapter, hence the lyric choice being a conjoined lyric between the two. The theme song of these chapters is "White Blank Page", by Mumford and Sons.

I must say thank you to all of my readers, especially those who eagerly come back every time I update. You guys make it a delight to write for all of you! 3 Now, up next... Poor little writer-chan is going to bust her ass trying to figure out how to write a massive shadow fight! Stay tuned, folks!


	7. In This Much Too Narrow Town

Chapter Six: In the Labyrinth of Loneliness in This Much Too Narrow Town

For a single moment, a cold, sickening moment where everyone's breathe was drawn, where the room stood in abject silence, the party stood frozen in solidarity. Not as a cohesive team of vigilantes set out to rescue the needy, but as a group of terror-stricken teenagers, who had gotten themselves involved in a fight far beyond their capabilities. The massive bestial shadow leered at the team, the sharp and jagged mouth on the torso gleaming in the darkness unnaturally, as it towered up.

_You already failed._

Chie slid into a defensive crouch on pure instinct, her face gaunt and bleak at the sight of the impossible beast.

_You didn't plan it out. You rushed in, didn't think things through. You didn't plan enough. You made assumptions; you thought you'd just be able to summon Izanagi just because you could before. You truly are a fool._

Souji opened his mouth, only to make a cracked and deep gurgle in lieu of any actual words. He stared away from the beast, holding his hand to his throat. Not again. He couldn't break down again, not like this. His voice was dying in his throat, the tremulous thoughts pounding in his brain so horrifically loud he was shocked that a golden-eyed Souji hadn't burst forth and started strangling him.

Yosuke's Shadow began to crouch, the long arms of the lanky top body going stiff, the eyes of the lower body gleaming. An unnatural gust, originating from no discernable location, started to draw close to the shadow. As if any stray wind in the room was drawn to the bestial abomination. The shadow chuckled deeply, **"What? Giving up already? It's no fun for me if you just lie down and die." **

_It was a waste, after all, trying to save Saki only for her to die like this. Not only that, but now Teddie, Chie and Yosuke will die here too, and so you will. _

Souji finally eked out something, eyes still wide with sickened horror, stomach still burning with acid, throat still so goddamn tight he could barely talk. He mumbled a command, low and muffled, so low that Chie couldn't even hear him. "D-g-"

"What?" She asked, turning her head towards him.

_Everyone will die, once again, and you failed to stop it. Even worse, Nanako's going to die alone and scared in this terrible place, not even by her daddy's side at the hospital. And it's all because you couldn't just stand back and let one person die._

"DODGE!" Souji screamed, suddenly turning his back towards the shadow as he dove at Chie, shoving the teen girl to the side forcefully as the Shadow's lanky arms suddenly swung together into a forceful clap. The aberrant torrent of wind slammed against Souji, sending the teen flying into one of the numerous glass-case walls with enough force for the glass to audibly crack.

As he slid down against the wall, streaking blood from his shoulder once again, Souji coughed deeply. He slumped on the ground, thankfully still conscious, but gagging something hot, coppery and thick. "D-damn..." he mumbled as he attempted to steady himself, wiping away the blood from his mouth, before feeling a hand shake him hard on the shoulder.

Souji looked up to Chie, her prized green jacket scuffled and sticky, her cheek and leg scratched up, her eyes wide with shock, and surprisingly watery. "Why did..." She asked, as she motioned at Souji, the smear of red running down the Kevlar vest.

"It's charging up as we speak," Souji said, before pulling himself to his feet. His mouth still felt bloody, as he could feel a welt on the inside of his cheek, not the most pleasant feeling but a hell of a lot better than a pierced lung or internal bleeding. "It's going to be a while before it goes for a wind attack again, but it's physical hits are going to be stronger this time."

She gave an aggravated whine and motioned towards the beast**,** "You have got to explain how you know this when we're done fighting!" She snapped, motioning towards the beast as she spoke, only for a heavy barrel to fly by and smash against the glass case wall hard enough to shatter, barely missing her and Souji but still coating both in a layer of wooden shards and sake. As they stumbled back, a pair of bloated hands slammed into them, snatching them from the ground and slamming them against the case with enough force to crack the glass. Both gasped in pain, Chie's legs flailing wildly against the beast as Souji wriggled an arm free, sword mercifully still in hand.

**"You know,"** Shadow Yosuke growled, the lanky top form leaning towards the pair as it spoke, the glass cracking further as it smashed them both further, **"There's nothing I hate more than people talking shit about me while I'm standing RIGHT."** The monster slammed them both again, emphasizing each word with physical pain,** "FUCKING." **Souji swore he saw a stream of blood running down Chie's cheek and the cracked glass by her side, as he heard a cry of pain. He wasn't sure if it had come from Chie or himself.** "THERE." **A trail of blackened slobber dribbled through the teeth of the lower half's mouth as the independent mouth growled deeply, twitching as a warning for the incoming bite.

Instinctively, Souji immediately slashed his sword at the beast with his free hand, dashing against one of the frog's eyes. The shadow shrieked two-fold, releasing them to clutch it's wounded eye. No blood or other fluids leaked out from the wound, instead a small stream of motes floated upwards from the injury. Grabbing Chie's wrist and dragging the disoriented girl along, Souji made a break for it, limping past the small opening before the Shadow had a chance to counter.

As the two staggered away, both heard the sound of a light thunk and a popping noise. Souji turned, only to nearly stumble over at the sight of a firecracker exploding into a small puff of flame and light at the floor, entirely missing the Shadow but rather bouncing against the blood-streaked wall. Oh… Oh, he had lost track of the bag. He silently cussed, as the Shadow's attention sharply turned to the small patch of fire, then to the overturned table, running for the sudden flash of blood-streaked long, brown hair rather than the two weapon-wielding fighters who had attempted to run.

"Come on, Saki-chan!" Teddie said, kneeling on the ground and cradling Yosuke's head. The little bear didn't have a lot of words to describe this grizzly scene as it erupted. It was bad enough when those two humans got slammed into the wall, getting their red smeared along the wall by the Shadow…

Heck, it was bad enough when Yosuke went down like that…

He was still reeling from the idea, of humans and their Shadows and…

And his little heart couldn't take the unbearable pressure! But no! He would endure, just as the skinny girl Saki-chan would endure! She needed help, and he would help to the beary furthest edges possible, even when he was scared! "We need to make things hot here beary soon!

The brunette girl nodded, supporting her weight against the side of the table as she rooted through the bag. Her leg ached, the pain screaming at her to lie down, or at least to rest instead of to stand. Her head throbbed, even with taking Han- Yosuke's glasses from his comatose form. Her swings were wild, barely hitting anywhere near her target, but she needed to try, especially with the pools of booze the Shadow was standing in. Just one good hit… Just one good hit, and maybe she could make up for… She looked down at the collection of items in the bag, "Maybe I should try one of the other things in here?"

It was a strange compellation of things though, she thought as she rooted through the bag. Unmelting, glass-like ice… Ten pinwheels, why… One last first aid kit, the other one already lost from the mad scramble to hide away from the shadow… What were they even planning when they came here? She frowned, "What am I supposed to even do with this?"

"Well, don't use the pinwheels! He'll be immune to wind attacks!" Teddie said, pointing out the brightly colored decorations. "He's already casting wind. Wait, he might even absorb them and get stronger! No, we gotta knock the breath right out of him!"

"Are the puns… Necessary… You know what, never mind that, I'll just keep trying with the-" She silenced, at the sound of thundering, flat footsteps approaching quickly. Shit. Shit shit, she couldn't run, not with her leg like this, shit. "Get Yosuke and get out of here!"

"**What?" **She heard the deep voice booming behind her, right by her ear as a massive hand grasped her torso surprisingly gingerly. Saki turned, the blood draining from her face to come face-to-face with the Shadow's upper body. Even with the black stocking blocking out its face, she was sure she could see the cold glare in its eyes, the vicious scowl painting its lips as the hand swiftly tightened around her ribs and arms.

As Chie and Souji turned to see the Shadow dash up and grasp Saki, the panic in Souji's mind dulled down. He looked at the ground, where three small fires still burned from Senpai's attempts at distracting or attacking the Shadow, one firecracker still not yet activated after snuffing out on it's own in a failed toss.

No… No, he thought, looking at the barrels of liquor and the pool of sake that had been slathered from the failed toss. Souji knelt down and grasped the firecracker. "I think I might have a plan…" He said, as he caught onto Saki's idea. "Do you think you can distract it?"

"I'll do you one better!" Chie shouted, as she started running right up to the lumbering beast, "I'll bring it down!"

"**Do you think that will make it right?" **The Shadow gave a vindictive squeeze as she yelped in pain, her hands blocked off from tossing a single item. As she attempted to wrench away, the little bear looked to the pained girl and the comatose boy, at a loss of who needed the greater amount of help, scared out of his mind, and sure he couldn't do anything to even help. Still, the Shadow ranted, voice tinted with a bitter sadness as it spoke, **"Or are you just too scared to let the money train stop? You know, get the boss's son killed… That sounds like a firing offense, totally… Tell me, Saki-Senpai, was it always about the money?" **

"It's not… It's not like tha-" Saki gasped in pain, sure she could hear a rib cracking as the Shadow slowly crushed her in its massive hand, even as a second, tiny pair of claws squeezed into the clinging grasp and helplessly attempted to yank the fingers closed. As she kicked at the massive shadow and squirmed, as she felt Teddie attempt to pull her out, screaming her name in terror, she felt her vision going blurry, before falling haphazardly to the floor. The Shadow went from taunting her to shrieking out in pain, at the sudden sharp pains against its lower body.

Chie smashed at the back legs of the Shadow, twirling and kicking with all of her strength at it. It had to have knees, didn't it? It had to have some nerve cluster somewhere, some weakness that she could topple it over. She continued her furious assault of the Shadow's back limbs, even as it turned to her, a massive hand just narrowly missing her by inches as she weaved back.

She didn't think of the inherent danger, of the blood still running down her face or the possibility this thing could crush her like a cricket or blast out that unnatural wind again. Chie's mind was all in the combat, the rush of energy she gained from each motion, each bob. Later on, she would compare the moment to one of her movies, or perhaps even one of the cheesy Sentai shows she'd watch as a kid. At this point though, she didn't think. She just focused on the movements, the feel of the Shadow's surprisingly rubbery flesh against her calves and feet with each attack.

The Shadow leaped back, as far from the enraged girl in green as he could in one motion, only to yelp in pain by the feeling of sudden jagged shards of ice erupting against its face. The Shadow attempted to tear away the crystals, before turning to Teddie who was holding a second fistful of the ice in the bag.

"I… I'm not strong enough to fight," Teddie said glumly as it ran over, dropping the ice back into the bag as he helped Saki stand back up, "But I couldn't let the Shadow attack you or Chie-chan again!" She nodded in surprise, leaning her body against the bear and giving him a light pat on the head.

Meanwhile, Yosuke's Shadow puffed in rage, as the ice melted away with streams of darkness puffing out with each movement. Its lower left eye was still molting, its back legs were stiff and worn from the abuse that damned bitch with the green coat gave him. It looked like, as the beast reared up for another Wind of Oblivion, crouching down as the air began to coalesce around his arms, he'd have to resort to killing them all with magical means instead of his own bare hands.

Then a wooden cask smashed into it, sending its upper half lurching sideways. The wood splintered, sending a gush of cheap alcohol up and down the shadow's form. For a moment, it lingered there, then slowly, menacingly, turned its gaze towards its attacker.** "You… are going to regret that."**

There stood Souji, the grey-haired madman, a firecracker in one hand, a silver zippo lighter in the other, and a manic grin on his face. "So… I'm guessing I've got your attention now." Souji kept a careful watch of the Shadow, flicking on the lighter. He kept walking along the edge of the wall, attempting to keep the focus of the Shadow towards him. "I wonder… There's a lot of booze around… And you must have soaked yourself too before, when you tried to crush Chie and I against a wall, remember when you tossed that barrel?"

The Shadow growled, adding the newest threat and the crush of the wooden cask into the list of slights to its reasons to kill everyone in this entire goddamn room. As the winds began to kick up, Souji kept along the wall, still holding the burning firecracker as the wick shrank down so rapidly, the worry in the back of his mind that the plan would go wrong, or that he would time it badly and lose a finger. "Come on… Come on, you _stupid-_looking frog monster… You're going to let me just light you on fire like that?"

His attention snapped fully to Souji, the airs of Wind of Oblivion focused against the wall and towards Souji. Immediately, the grey-haired boy tossed the firecracker and the cask aside, instead bearing down against the ground as close as he could to guard the burst of wind. The biting air stung against his face, as his fingernails and feet dragged against the floor. He couldn't hear anything, nobody screaming his name in horror nor the sound of the firecracker popping, uselessly, against a glass wall… But he didn't need to. Even if they didn't know it yet, Souji had faith in them, the entire team, even those who couldn't fight or didn't know him yet.

Meanwhile, the Shadow just flung as much power behind the gusts, extending the energy of the gales as hard and as long as it could. It didn't matter all of his its attention was focused on Souji now, that he completely ignored his host, the girls or the little yuru-kyaru-esque Shadow beside them… It didn't matter it could still feel the liquor running down it's side, as it kept trying to bash him, crush him with the force of the hurricane-like winds, smash him into a wall and watch the blood run down his heroic goddamn face.

It was that point when it heard a popping noise right by his ear and felt perhaps the most searing hot pain it ever felt in its existence.

The Shadow looked down, to see the plumes of flame running along the top of its lower half, the upper body switching from blasting the wind to immediately attempting to smack away the flames, only achieving in enhancing them with the tail end of his magical gusts. The remaining eye of the lower body looked up, staring at the party. Chie supporting Saki against her, Saki still holding up her lighter, the flame still flickering as the Shadow howled in rage and pain.

The errant pools of liquor began to catch fire as well, lighting up magnificently as Souji ran up to the rest of the group, "Chie, keep a hold of Senpai, Teddie make sure we keep the supplies, I've got Yosuke, now hurry-" He chanted, as already Chie started tugging the stumbling Saki along and Teddie pulling the lightened backpack along behind him as best as his empty frame could manage.

He knelt down, pulling Yosuke's limp arms around his neck as he pulled the boy up. He winced, surprised at the weight, and just thankful that Yosuke was still breathing lightly, even with as pale as his skin became, as cold as his felt. He glanced up to the shrieking flaming Shadow one last time, the flames already consuming and bursting bottles and crates of liquor way too terrifyingly close. The smells of fumes, the smoke and the burning alcohol and reoccurrence of the ozone-like smell as the Shadow fell, were sickening, as he proceeded to carry the unconscious teen out, making a break for the door.

* * *

Out of all of the lights in the dilapidated version of the Shopping District, the brightest and clearest came from the fire of the fake Konishi Liquor Store. The tiny shop, barely two stories on the outside, was almost entirely consumed by the flames, the surrounding shops impossibly flame-free as the fire otherwise devoured everything within.

Watching it like this, standing outside on a cold foggy street, as her underclassmen and the little Bear mascot were busy huddled over Hana-chan… She almost felt sick watching this. She didn't want something like this to happen to the liquor store not truthfully. But… This whole day felt like it was about taking every bad thought she ever considered, every little mental sin she had and forcing her to stare at them on a silver platter, forcing her to accept. Saki turned back to the rest of the group, wiping away an errant tear from her face.

Yosuke began to stir, still keeping his eyes screwed firmly shut as he felt the cool, dry ground underneath himself. "Wha… What just…"

"Come on, save your strength," Chie said, as she stroked her friend's hair gently, going as kindly to Yosuke as she could at the moment. Her high from the fight had run dry, leaving her… Surprisingly empty, at this point. The monster was dead, it had to be with all of the fire just now. And Yosuke was alive, and Saki-Senpai was alive and… They were alive… The relief was just a thin, frail little twig of an emotion at this point, but she still clung to it tightly. "You gave us a really bad scare back there, you know… You just… Up and fainted when… Well, you're okay now. That's what matters."

Souji kept staring at the fire of the building, still tense as he held Yosuke up with one arm, sword tightly clenched in his free hand. He watched the door, expecting it to emerge at any time now… At least, he assumed it would have to emerge. It wasn't dead… At least, he didn't think it was dead. Shadows weren't frail like that, being lit entirely aflame shouldn't really kill it, just… Get it to stop for a little while.

Yosuke eased his eyes open, wincing at the loss of his glasses before he felt them settled back into place. He glanced up to see Saki, who glanced away as she stepped back. For a second he attempted to speak, an apology or a cuss or a reassurance, only for the words to die in his throat. He wrenched his eyes closed, still that sick, empty feeling in his head and throat.

"… Oh no…" Teddie whimpered, as he slide back from the group, "Something's coming from the fire..."

Everyone turned, Yosuke's eyes flying open as they looked at the door of the burning liquor store. Even as the flames licked off its form, the Shadow Yosuke seemed immune. He stumbled out the doorway, less… Stoic than Souji remembered from last time. If anything, he looked downright miserable at this point.

Apparently, he had been effected worse this time, he though as he looked down at the shocked Yosuke. "That's not…"

"You'll have to accept it." Teddie interjected. Yosuke looked up at the bear mascot as he spoke, "You… You need to accept it. It will just go wild again otherwise. I mean, we bearly got out of it last time too. I don't think we can do it again…"

Yosuke winced, as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. He looked at the Shadow, who just stood a few meters away, staring at the group… No, it was staring at him and Saki. He could accept that much, at least. Still, the idea of having to agree… After everything that Shadow must have done… Chie's face was slashed; Souji's Kevlar was streaked with more blood, while a thin stream of red still leaked from under his sleeves when he moved too quickly.

He didn't have to think to hard, staring at how abused his friends were and the burning liquor store, that whatever the Shadow did had to be severely fucked up.

As he looked down, he felt a hand rub his back. He turned, to look Souji in the face. "Look…" Souji said, keeping his expression as neutral as he could despite the waver in his voice and the obvious tension in his frame, "I know... I know it doesn't mean as much to say something like this now, especially with just being… Well, just me. A crazy, strange guy who knows way too much about this weird TV World stuff."

"You're not crazy-" Yosuke attempted to interject, only for Souji to hold up a hand at that.

"No… You're right about that. It's nothing to be ashamed of… I am crazy." Souji chuckled slightly to himself, "A different sort of crazy than you meant, but still… You're a really good guy, Yosuke. A much better person than you probably think you are, especially right now, so… I guess what I'm trying to say is even if that's part of you, that's not all of you."

"Part of me…" Yosuke mumbled to himself, looking away from the group to think as he absorbed the situation. Teddie nodded as well, while Chie and Saki stood in confused silence, not sure where Souji was going in this speech. Chie watched the Shadow carefully, ready to shift back for a counter attack at any point, while Saki just leaned back, still too injured to do much more than hobble away slowly yet sure she would need to dash away as soon as possible.

Yosuke stood up, his body feeling like his clothes had been replaced by a thousand steel chains and weights, his head still burning with acid and fire as he approached his Shadow self. As he got up closer, he noticed the redness around his Shadow's eyes the way its hands clenched closed and relaxed. "Look…" He attempted, rubbing the back of his head, standing in front of the golden-eyed Doppelganger, "You… You are a part of me. It's hard to admit, and… I'm not proud to admit this, but you are me." With that, he patted the Shadow on its shoulder, "I… I guess it does hurt, doesn't it?"

The Shadow self stared at him, before giving a mild smile as it began to shimmer into a faded blue light. At first, most of the group figured it was going to be absorbed right into Yosuke or perhaps just phase out of existence like a nightmare or a bad memory. Instead, as it floated up, the form shifting, everyone gained a mild shock. Everyone, save for Souji.

The Shadow transformed, the Yosuke-esque figure becoming the sleek Persona for an instant, before it faded into a bright blue Tarot card that floated into Yosuke's hand. He stared, mind surprisingly accepting of this, as he caught the small card, flipping it in his hand. _Jiraiya… My Persona…_

There was a moment of silence from the party, as everyone took the time to absorb the situation, before Yosuke looked up, making an attempt to speak before he fell down to his knees in exhaustion. Immediately, Chie and Souji both dashed up, Teddie following along as he supported Saki along side.

"I'm… I'm fine…" Yosuke muttered, as he attempted to pull himself up, only to be dragged up to his feet by the sudden feeling of the taller boy leaning in and pulling him back up. He leaned into the hold, feeling so close to fainting again, as he attempted to explain, "It… It's just… Turned into… I have no idea what just happened… But it's good."

"How can you be so sure?" Chie asked as she looked Yosuke over, shocked at the proceedings of what just happened, "I-I mean, his Shadow just… It poofed! And turned into a disco-ninja-frog-thing and then poofed again!"

"It's not a disco ninja frog thing," Yosuke grumbled with annoyance, "It's Jiraiya. It's… My Persona." He gave a wry smile at that, "I don't even know what that means… But it sounds right, you know?"

Teddie marveled at the group, these strange and curious beings… Filled with red, so smart about his world, so brave fighting Shadows even when they were injured, who had Shadows of their own and yet could make them into… He wasn't sure what he could say about Yosuke at this point, the silly skinny guy who apparently now had a Persona of his own! "Gosh almighty!" The little bear mascot said, as it approached, "I've never seen something like that before Aniki, a person taming their Shadow like that!"

"Aniki… What, really?" Yosuke asked, not sure if he was pleased by his new nickname or surprised the bear decided he wanted to sound like a tough guy all of a sudden. Still, he couldn't complain about it, oddly pleased at how impressed the bear was... At least he did something kind of impressive, even if he screwed up a lot before. Yosuke frowned to himself, glancing at the group. Teddie seemed alright, no worse for the wear…

Souji was bleeding all over again though, and looked like his hands and face were scraped up as well. Chie had a massive dash along her cheek and bruises along her face and side. Saki-Senpai… She barely looked like she could breathe, instead taking ragged, pained breaths as she clung onto Teddie's fur. Yosuke winced in shame, "What… What can I do… With Jiraiya, I mean."

"He casts wind-based magic," Souji said. At this point, the party were beginning not to question him when he began to expound on things he shouldn't know, besides the quiet long stares. "He's also quick and… I believe you have minor healing magic too."

"Healing magic?" Yosuke asked, his voice thin and dry with his exhaustion and stress. He thought quietly, bizarre and yet intensely meaningful words playing in the back of his mind, as Yosuke pressed a hand against Souji's shoulder. _"…Dia." _

As a gleam of greenish light shimmered, the wound sealed shut, absorbing some of the blood as it streamed out. Souji reached for his shoulder in surprise, before attempting to stop Yosuke, "You need your rest-"

"I'm fine." Yosuke said, holding up his hand. "And besides… After everything… It's the least I can do for all of you."

The group walked back in silence, except for the occasional mumble from Yosuke of that almost sacred word, the shimmering light sealing up wounds with each step. Even as the rest of the party found their steps less haggard, their breaths less ragged and pained, Souji found himself practically dragging the exhausted Magician as he still insisted on casting.

If anyone heard the long, enraged, and feminine shriek**s** along with the sound of the roaring fire, as the Liquor Store was entirely engulfed in flames, no one chose to say anything.


End file.
